Adams's Pocket descriptive guide to the environs of the metropolis : embracing Berkshire, Hertfordshire, Middlesex, Surrey, Kent, and Essex ...

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ADAMS'S

POCKET DESCRIPTIVE GUIDE

TO THE

ENVIRONS OF THE METROPOLIS.

Milk

■f '^ ^^

ADAJIS'S

TO THE

ENVIRONS

OF THE

3/?^ METROPOLIS

EMBBACIXG

BEEKSHTRE, HERTFOKDSHIEE,

MIDDLESEX, SURREY, KENT,

AND ESSEX,

IN A CIHCXIT OF

Thirty Miles round iKindon.

BY E. L. BLANCHAKD.

LONDON:
I W.J.ADAMS, 59,rLEET-STEEET,

AXD ALL BOOK8EIXEB8.

INTEODUCTION.

The object of this pocket companion to the excursionist is
sufficiently indicated by the title, the desire having been
throughout to supply a compact and yet compendious guide
to the chief places of interest and attraction to be found within
a circuit of about thirty miles around the metropolis. Those
who are limited in time or purse need not tarry in town
on account of distance being necessarily the only condition
that " lends enchantment to the view." If they can only steal
a few hours from the exigencies of business, they can for the
most moderate outlay, that even a little extra dinner indulgence
would exceed, be transported by the spirit of steam to some of
the rural retreats on the outskirts of our busy Babylon, that
will bring them within the sight of scenery as beautiful, and
places as fraught with rich historical associations, as though
they had been wafted beyond the range of a day's journey.
To serve as a gossiping companion by the way, pointing out
tlie remarkable features of an old building, or the purpose for
which a modern one has been erected, is the principal aim of
our ambition, and if by throwing into our description a little
of that discursive matter, which gives a zest to even the shortest
trip, an additional pleasure is imparted, the small volume that
we haw furnished with this design will not be felt as an

2000208

4 INTEODCCTION.

unwelcome incumbrance to the coat-pocket. We have endea-
voured to eschew such unnecessary antiquarian discussions as
would prove only superfluous to the cursory visitor, who can
find them elaborately detailed in larger works, whenever he
shall desire to look for them — and, instead, an attempt has
been made to supply precisely that information which will
prove of the greatest interest, when the place described is
brought under personal notice.

Few of a tolerably imaginative temperament have coolly
gazed through the medium of a bookseller's shop-window
upon some landscape engraving, picturing the beauties of a
picturesque spot, without irresistibly having their thoughts
directed to the same locality, and their inclination bent on the
achievement of an excursion thither. A chance sketch of
English scenery, or a county map, casually encountered, has a
wonderful tendency to disturb the steady train of our reflections,
sending susceptible folks off at once in quest of railway stations,
and considerably multiplying the number of pleasure-trips
taken during the sunny days of summer and autumn. "We
would fain give to those thus influenced a few hints about the
philosophy of rambling, the best mode of getting enjoyment
out of it, and the advantages to be derived from these occa-
sional excursions. A walking-stick, in the first place, is a very
serviceable companion, and — in default of a more agreeable
one — a little volume of descriptive poetry well chosen, for
perusal during the hours of rest and re&eshment, gives a

DfTKODUCTlON. 6

wholesome relish to our appreciation of Nature. We catch the

true spirit of many a British bard under these circumstances.

In fact, some of the greatest delights of a summer ramble are

derived from the association of objects around us with the

brilliant thoughts and glowing imagery with which they have

been invested by the poets. It should never be said of our

wayside wanderer, in the words of one of our most reflective

minstrels —

" The primrose by the river's trim,
A yellow primrose was to him,
And it was nothing move."

But we would have him acquire the habit — which a taste for
literature easily imparts — of rendering everything he sees
suggestive of something that has been said or thought con-
cerning it, and he will by this process find its charms wonder-
fully multiplied. It is in this ready and heartfelt consciousness
of the links that bind animate and inanimate nature together
that the charms of a rural excursion really consist. We would
thus have our rambler somewhat of a botanist — not a mere
expounder of hard names with Walker-only- knows-how-many
syllables — ^but a kind of roadside florist, who can recognise
flowering plants by their native English appellations, and
would rather leave the violet blooming on its shady bank than
ruthlessly dissect it to explore the arrangement of pistils and
corolla. A smattering of entomology also, is not by any means
to be despised. Your true lover of the country would not even
crush a spider in his lair, nor crunch under his ruthless heel

6 IXTEODCCTIOJf.

the humblest beetle that ever twirled its antennae in the sun-
shine. "We can then follow the golden-belted bee to his own
honeyed home, and lulled by the drowsy humming of his
wings, plunge into a dreamy reverie about the internal philo-
sophy of his hive, and start wild comparisons with social
communities. We can then enter into the fullest sympathy
with butterflies, and share the exuberance of their own
apparently intense enjoyment ; or, bending over a stagnant
pool, we can dabble delightedly in duck-weed, and watch with
carious eye the chase of a fugitive aquatic insect by some
gawky pirate of the pond, who, after skating along in ptirsuit
of his victim with marvellous celerity of motion, sits gently
down in the mud at the bottom and amuses himself by sending
up, juggler-fashion, a series of bright bubbling beads to break
on the surface as a kind of after-dinner relaxation. There is
indeed no limit to the odd fancies which crowd in upon us
during these excursive perambulations, enlisting our interest
in the veriest trifles, to confess which, at other times, would be
a species of avowed insanity. Yet these apparently insignifi-
cant items are the sand grains that form the mountain — the
component particles of that great aggregate of happiness
which may be obtained in — and which we trust all our readers
may derive from — a summer day's ramble.
Every year when

" Summer retnms and nature b green.
And the cuckoo is heard, and the siAllow is seen,"

IKTEODUCTIOK. 7

man — that is a susceptible being capable of clairvoyance under
solar mesmerism — experiences in the soles of his feet an
invincible desire to export himself somewhere. He is seized
with an alarming horror of his domicile, and is haunted in his
dreams by spectral steamers, phantom footpaths, and visionary
vehicles. He has a thirst for change — this must be quenched:
a longing for locomotion — this must be gratified. Some fine
morning a friend calls at his residence — he has vanished,
exhaled, evaporated. A month passes by, and he is again
seen, with a hoe darkened by the sun, and a purse lightened
by the journey. But the intervening time has been to him
fraught with pleasant memories, and he has inflated his lungs
with a stock of unpolluted oxygen that will enable him to
breathe upon credit for the next twelvemonth. To all who
can emancipate themselves from town thraldom, and who have
the opportunity of getting away, even into the suburbs, we
would most emphatically urge them to go and do likewise.
Let them seize every chance of thus turning a fine day to the best
advantage. The moil and turmoil of the human hive renders
an escape to the region of trees and flowers a privilege not to
be lightly despised, and the eye is not less clear, nor the hand
less dexterous, for the slight remission of their employment.
And then going, like

" One who long in populous cities pent.
Where houses thick, and sewers annoy the air,
Forth issuing on a summer's morn to breathe.

8 INTBODUCnO^T.

Among the pleasant villages and fkrma
Adjoined, from each thing met conceives delight.
The smell of grain, or tedded gross, or kine.
Or dairy, rural sights, and mral sounds——"

he shall return with renewed energy to his avocation, and find

that these simple pleasures are the best and most enduring.

Ha>'ing, therefore, now fully prepared the reader for the

enjoyment of one of those excursive trips which we are about

to indicate and describe, we may confidently affirm that if

anybody takes an excursion into his head without putting this

volume into his pocket he deserve to be : no I we vrill

not be too severe — as the man says in the play, the crime

carries its own ponishment along with it.

ADAMS'S

ENVIRONS OF THE METROPOLIS.

EXCURSION L

HAMPSTEAD— THE HEATH— JACK STRAWS CASTLE— THE
SPANIARD'S — CAEN WOOD — FINCHLEY — HIGHGATE— HIGH-
GATE HILL-ARUNDEL HOUSE— HIGHGATE ARCHWAY— THE
HIGHGATE OATH— WHITTINGTON AND HIS ALMSHOUSES—
THE NORTH LONDON CEilETERY— ISLINGTON— CANONBURY
HOUSE, &c. &c.

MIDDLESEX.

THE first excursion
which we propose to
describe is one long
familiar to the metro-
politan resident by
name, but replete with
historical and local
associations, that are

10 HAMPSTBAD.

too little known, it will form an appropriate commencement
to our depictions of the scenery and antiquities that may be
encountered even in the shortest ramble about the environs.
An omnibus — of which there are plenty to be met with, every
hour of the day, from the City and Tottenham Court-road —
will furnish a conveyance to Hampstead, at once convenient
and economical, and relieve the pedestrian from the least
interesting and most fatiguing portion of his journey. Passing
through Camden Town — which, notwithstanding its present
extent, is one of the most recently erected suburbs, having been
first built upon in 1791, on the manor falling into the posses-
sion of the Marquis of Camden — we have the line of the North-
Western Railway branching oflf to our left, and Chalk Farm,
once so noted in the annals of duelling, a little beyond. At
Haverstock Hill, where the ascent is palpable enough to make
a slower pace necessary and a retrospective glance at the
forest of chimneys beneath as obtainable, we have on the left
of the road a cottage, now split into two separate dwellings,
formerly the residence of Sir Bichard Steele, the associate of
Addison, and the busy contributor to the " Tatler." The road,
which speedily assumes a very rural aspect, though studded
with elegant villas in every direction, next leads past Down-
shire Hill, a pretty vista giving a distant glimpse of Highgate
Church and the houses round Kentish Town, anciently bearing
the name of Cantislares, or Cantlers. It now belongs chiefly to
the possessions of St. Paul's Cathedral, as ecclesiastical pro-
perty. Soon after we enter the main street of Hampstead, and
here, alighting from our vehicle, we may proceed to reconnoitre
this ancient and admired resort of the London rambler.

The Romans — that wonderful people, who were the first to
find out those attractive situations which modem judgment
has since sanctioned and improved — were evidently located
here for some time, and many Roman antiquities have been
discovered at various periods, particularly near the "Wells, in
1774. Ethelred made this district a present to Westminster
Abbey in 986 ; but as it then only contained five cottages, the

HAMPSTEAD. 11

benefaction was of less consideration than it would be now,
when it includes nearly five thousand. In the reign of Henry
the Eighth it had acquired a wonderful reputation among
laundresses, and the nobility were wont to send their hnen
hither to be bleached, in the belief that peculiarly cleansing
properties were here attached to the two elements of air and
water. For a short time the county members were elected on
the heath, but the privilege was lost in 1701, and from that
time the chief interest is connected with the eminent literary
characters, who made Hampstead a place of frequent resort
and residence. At a tavern called " The Upper Flask" — the
sign is still perpetuated — the celebrated " Kit-cat Club" was
originally held, under the management of its eccentric sponsor,
Christopher Cat, and here Addison, Steele, Richardson (the
novelist) Pope, Gay, Arbuthnot, and afterwards Akenside and
Dr. Johnson, with a host of other celebrities, used frequently
to assemble. The Church of St. John's was built in 1747; but
the increasing population rendering its want of accommodation
severely felt, it has been recently enlarged to nearly double its
former extent, at a cost of £3,000. There is a chapel in "Well-
walk, where formerly persons were married without fees on
condition of ordering their wedding dinner at the Wells, which
was of course charged for in proportion. These wells enjoyed
much celebrity in the last century, as containing a chalybeate
spring suitable for many complaints; but they have become
latterly quite deserted and forgotten. Passing on to the Heath,
throned upon an elevation of nearly 400 feet above the sea
level, there is a magnificent prospect spread forth on every
side. The mighty maze of London, with its myriad house-
tops, lies mapped out in the hollow towards the south, whilst
rising amidst the smoky vapour, that hangs over the city like
a cloud, may be recognised the massive dome of St. Paul's,
the towers of Westminster Abbey, and the New Houses of
Parliament, the thread-like elevation of the Monument, and
most of the more elevated pubhc edifices. Beyond may be
traced the blue outline of the Surrey hiUs, even to Banstead

12 HAMPSTEAD.

Downs. On the other side the view is even more varied and
extensive. With the condition of a clear atmosphere, the eye
can embrace from this eminence Windsor, Harrow-on-the-Hill,
Ashley Hills (thirty miles distant), Finchley, Hanslop steeple,
in Northamptonshire, within eight miles of Northampton ; and
the range of the Langdon Hills in Essex, full thirty miles east;
besides numerous places within the circumference, of inferior
note. Around, in the immediate neighbourhood, are Rosslyn
House, and Bellsize, an old Manor Hall; Parliament Hill,
where there is an ancient tumulus; the Vale of Health, sheltered
between the hills; North-End, close to the Heath; West-End,
half-a-mile to the south west; Fortune Green, half-a-mile west;
and Child's Hill, one mile to the north-west. To the south of
the hills are the Hampstead Ponds, which formed the source
of the Fleet — that famous river, which Pope immortalized as —

" The king of dykes, than whom no sluice of mud
With deeper sable biota the silver flood."

For many centuries, however, the water was as pure as its
origin betokened. Passing from Hampstead, it went by Kentish
Town, Camden Town, and the old chtirch of St. Pancras,
towards Battle Bridge, past Bagnigge Wells and the House of
Correction, towards the valley at the back of Mount Pleasant,
and thence to the bottom of Holbom. Here it received the
waters of the Old Bourne, which afterwards bequeathed its
name to the thoroughfare, rising near Middle Row, and the
sewer of Holbom Hill is the same channel to this day. In
1765 the Fleet was finally covered over and buUt upon; but
the sparkling source that gave it birth is still unchanged by
time. The Serpentine is also fed by the springs alwut this spot,
which makes the fact more remarkable, that Hampstead itself
is lamentably deficient in the supply of water which it distri-
butes so liberally to the northern suburbs. We believe, how-
ever, that arrangements are now in progress for removing
what has always been such a marvellous defect to the parish,
and such a serious inconvenience to the inhabitants.

HAMPSTEAD. 13

The tavern known as "Jack Straw's Castle" was .so
designated from a tradition — generally considered erroneous
— that this was one of the retreats of the insurgents during the
rebellion of Wat Tyler. The house is commodious, and has
some spacious grounds attached, with a Post-office adjacent.
A brisk walk across the Heath westward will soon bring the
pedestrian to " The SpaniarcTs" an excellent hostel, situated
in a rather romantic position among the woods, and com-
manding some delightful views. It was formerly the site of a
gateway leading into an extensive park, the property of the
Bishops of London, and here, in a less pleasant way than by
the charges of the present Boniface, toll was exacted from
every traveller who passed. In this park, known as HaiFring-
hay, was once a magnificent palace, the property also of these
great church dignitaries, and how pleasantly chosen may be
inferred from a description given of the suburbs by Fitzstephen,
in 1180, which reads somewhat oddly in the present day. The
old chronicler says — we have of course modernised the spelling
— " There are cornfields, pastures, and delightful meadows,
intermixed with pleasant streams, on which stand many a mill
whose clack is so grateful to the ear ; beyond them a forest
extends itself, beautified by woods and groves, and full of the
layers and coverts of beasts and game, stags, bucks, boars, and
wild bulls." That this bishop's palace was also a castle we
learn from an account published of it in 1593, which even then
alludes to its antiquity as a ruin. The following is the passage :
— " The hill is at this time trenched with two deep ditches,
now oldc and overgrowne with bushes, the rubble thereof, as
brick, tile, and cornish slate, are in heaps yet to be seen, which
ruins are of great antiquity, as may appear by the oaks at this
day standing, above a hundred years growth, at the very
foundation of the building." That the facility afforded for
hunting was the chief reason that induced the prelates here to
fix their residence cannot be doubted, when it is remembered
that at a period not more remote than the reign of Queen
Elizabeth these wooded andulations abounded with pheasants,

14 HAMP8TEAD,

partridges, and herons, which latter bird being found in such
abundance proves that the region of villas by which London
is now begirt, " like some swarth Indian with his belt of beads,"
was tlien scarcely better than an undrained track of marsh
land. A century before, the hilly range of Highgate and
Hampstead, with the gentler declivity of Hornsey and the
valley of Tottenham to the east, were famous for wild boars,
and the diversion of hunting them often drew the citizens to
resorts now frequented for a much less romantic purpose, so
that in earlier times there could have been no dearth of sport
for these mitred huntsmen. The form of the moat, seventy
yards square, is still visible, and is indicated by a gushing
spring, which now serves as a watering-place for cattle, where
the aged bushes on its banks may yet be seen drooping into
the refreshing stream. In the wood adjacent to this castle a
hostile meeting took place between the Duke of Gloucester
and the Earl of Warwick in 1386, and it was here that the
former opposed the king with a force of forty thousand men.
Henry VIII. threatened those who should hunt or hawk
within these precincts "imprisonment of their bodies, and
further punishment at his majesty's will and pleasure," so that,
whilst we indulge in a little needful rest and refreshment at
the " Spaniard's", there is no lack of matter for reflection,
when we contemplate the changes of times past and present

Before leaving the inn which bears this uncommon appella-
tion, we may mention that it owes its name to the circumstance
of a Spaniard being its first landlord, since which time it has
been considerably improved, and the gardens laid out with
taste and liberality. Close by was, about a century since, a
curious cottage, called " New Georgia," which bore on it an
inscription penned after the following quaint fashion : — " I,
Robert Caxton, began this place in a wild wood, stubbed np
the wood, digged all the ponds, cut all the walks, made all the
gardens, built all the rooms with my own hands, nobody drove
a nail here, laid a brick or tile here, but myself, and thank God
for giving me such strength, being sixty-four years of age

CAEN WOOD. 15

■w-hen I began it." The owner showed his visitors several
small rooms with embellishments of his own execution, and
wherein some such odd diversions were resorted to as the
gentleman being put into the pillory, and the ladies obliged to
kiss him under penalties not decorous to enumerate. The
eccentricity of this heai;^y old gentleman was further developed
in 1760, by causing his grounds, which were most romantically
disposed, to be interspersed with representations of various
reptiles, that by means of hidden machinery suddenly made an
attack upon the unsuspecting lounger. There was a chair so
constructed also, with a perversion of ingenuity, that directly
the tired stranger became seated in it would fling around him
the wooden semblance of snakes, spiders, and the most loath-
some reptiles, all we are to presume made likewise out of jVIt.
Caxton's " own head."

Caen Wood, the residence of the Earl of Mansfield, is the
next conspicuous object that arrests our attention. Once the
retreat of Venner, the fanatic, and his followers, it was at an
early date inhabited by the Duke of Argyle. The mansion is
a noble structure, though without much pretension to archi-
tectural magnificence, and the spacious park is composed of
graceful undulations, green lawns, sparkling sheets of water,
and strips of umbrageous woodland, with here an opening
whence a picturesque view may be obtained, and there a
grove of impenetrable thickness. Though now the very image
of peaceful seclusion, it was in 1780 the scene of one of those
riotous outbreaks which are, happily, of such rare occurrence
in England, though apparently epidemic abroad. The " No
Popery" cry, fomented by Lord George Gordon, incited a
desperate gang to bum down the elegant mansion of Lord
Mansfield in Bloomsbury Square, which consumed a most
valuable collection of pictures and manuscripts ; and Lord
and Lady Mansfield were with diflBculty preserved from their
violence, by making their escape through a back door a few
minutes before these miscreants broke in and took possession
of the house. The military was sent for, but arrived too late;

16 nscHLEr.

they were obliged, however, to fire on the mob in their own
defence, and six men and a woman were killed and several
wonnded. Not contented with the havoc and destruction they
had already caused, the infuriate mob went in two divisions
through Highgate and Hampstead, both meeting at the
" Spaniard's," then kept by one Giles Thomas. With singular
presence of mind he persuaded his unruly visitors to refresh
themselves amply, throwing not only his house and cellarage
open to them free of charge, but causing barrels of strong ale
to be rolled from the cellars of Caen Wood house to the road-
side. During the time thus so adroitly gained messengers
were despatched for the soldiery, who arrived just in time to
save the noble structure, which the multitude intended to
destroy. The whole of these exciting incidents have been
admirably introduced by Dickens into his story of " Bamaby
Rudge," and tell with thrilling effect upon the reader.

Should time permit, it is worth while for the pedestrian to
stroll hence through East End on to Finchky, which is about
three miles further, and pay a visit to the old church, that
claims an antiquity coeval with the fifteenth century. There
are some fine old tombs and brasses that will well repay
inspection. Some ancient almshouses, supported by an endow-
ment of £300 a year, given in 1491, are interesting as a record
of the benevolence of our forefathers. Finchley Common,
memorable for the exploits of the Dick Turpins and Claude
Du Val's of former days, is now surrounded by the neat villas
of our London merchants, but the tree is still standing that
formed the rendezvous of the highwaymen; and the Black-
smith's forge is on the same site, where the old farrier shod the
horse of one of these minions of the moon the WTong way, in
order to enable him to evade pursuit, by leaving a reversed
track behind. This locality will also remind one of Hogarth's
" March toFittchley"viheTein he has so humourously delineated
the progress of the Foot Guards to their place of rendezvous on
Finchley Common, whence they were to proceed to Scotland
against the rebels in 1745. The return to town can be made

HIGHGATE. 17

either by way of Muswell Hill, Hornsey Lane, and Islington,
or through Highgate and Kentish Town. The latter, as being
the nearest as well as most interesting route, is the one we
have preferred to indicate.

The salubrity of Highoate is attested not only by the old
records, which show during the prevalence of the Great
Plague of London that not one death from that fearful disease
occurred in this locality, but also by the number of hospitals
and asylums that have been here erected, and the numerous
families who have chosen a residence in this elevated region,
for the sake of its pure and bracing atmosphere. One of the
most curious circumstances connected with its history is
attached to the name of Sir William "Wallace. When that
patriotic hero was beheaded on Tower Hill, in 1305, his
remains were conveyed to the lodge of Gilbert Earl of Glou-
cester, the Bishop's castle before alluded to, and here also
Robeit Bruce, disguised as a Carmelite, remained concealed
until treachery betrayed his retreat to the king. Many stirring
scenes were here enacted during the " troublous times" of
Henry IV.; and it is, besides, the locality of the famous
necromantic conspiracy, plotted by the Duchess of Gloucester,
Margaret Jourdain, and their conferates, against Henry the
Sixth. On Highgate Hill was Baron Thorpe beheaded by the
insurgents in 1461; and in Arundel House was imprisoned
the unfortunate Lady Arabella Stuart, and hence she escaped
in male attire. The adventures of this unhappy lady, who by
her affinity to James I. and Elizabeth, was placed too near
the throne for her own peaceful desires, form one of the most
singular episodes in history. In the same house the great Lord
Bacon breathed his last, leaving only the immortality of a
name. Cromwell House, a curious structure close by, was
built by the Protector for Ireton, his son-in-law ; the armorial
bearings of the family are still to be seen on the ceiling of the
drawing-room. In Lauderdale House once dwelt Mistress
Nell G Wynne, mother of the first Duke of St. Albans; and
among the many other celebrated personages who have cither
c

18 HIGHGATE.

spent the greater part of their lives or ended their days hercj
may be enumerated Sir Eichard Baker, author of the " Chro-
nicles," Andrew Marvel, the Countess of Huntingdon, Dr.
Sacheverell, Moreland, Coleridge, and Charles Lamb. The
high gate which gave its name to the parish was an arch with
rooms over it, and was removed in 1769, its want of height
obstructing the passage of laden waggons. The north road
now passes through the hill by means of a deep cutting and
under an archway. The reason for establishing the old gate
is thus fully communicated by Norden, one of the old local
topographers: — "The Auncient Highwaie to High Bamet
from Portepole, now Gray's Inn Lane, was through a lane on
the east of Pancras Church called Longwich Lane ; from thence
leaving Highgate to the west, it passed through Tallingdone
Lane, and so to Crouch End, and thence through a park
called Hornsey Great Park, to Muswell Hill, Colney Hatch,
Fryeme Bamet, and so to Whetstone. This Auncient High-
waie was refused of wayfarers and carriers by reason of
the deepness and dirtie passage in the winter season. It
was agreed between the Bishop of London and the countrie
that a new way should be laide forthe through the said
Bishop's possessions, beginning at Highgate Hill, to lead
directly to Whetstone, for which new waie travellers yield a
certain toll imto the Bishop of London, which is farmed at
£40 per annum, and for that purpose was the gate erected in
1387 upon the hill, that through the same all travellers should
passe, and be the more aptly staide for the said toll." At the
Gate House Inn was formerly administered the celebrated
Highgate oath on the horns, which strange custom is said to
have originated from the fact of the tavern being frequented by
graziers, who, to exclude strangers, brought an ox to the door,
aad allowed none to enter who would not kiss the homs. Some
doggrel rhymes of the pariod thus allude to the circumstance : —

" It's a custom at Highgate, that all who go through
Must be sworn on the homs, sir ; and so, sir, must you ;
Bring the homs, shut the door ; lyw, sir, off with your hat.
And when you again come, pray don't forget that."

HIGHGATE. 19

Not longer back than sixty years, when eighty stages stopped
daily at the Red Lion Inn — now where ai'e they ? — three
out of every five passengers were regularly sworn. The
landlord, introducing a pair of horns on a long pole, bade
every guest be uncovered, and then gave a rigmarole affir-
mation of what every one might and might not do with
impunity, such as not to eat brown bread when they could
get white, except they liked it better, and so forth, with
other whimsical injunctions, in the same strain. These mum-
meries of a past age, when boisterous memment was mis-
taken for happiness, are now quite extinct. The handsome
gothic church of St. Jlichael's was completed in 1832, and
forms a landmark seen for miles round ; the interior is exceed-
ingly neat and commodious. The grammar school, which was
originally an hermitage, was founded by Sir Roger Cholmely
in 1565, who left some estates for its support. The school at
first educated only forty boys ; but by judicious management,
and the receipt of a small extra sum from the scholars, tlie
benefits have been extended to nearly double the number, and
the income has increased from £10 to nearly £900 annually.
The original Whittington's Stone has been long since removed,
but some handsome almshouses mark the spot where he heard
the peal of Bow Bells ringing the mystic injunction in his ear
of "Turn again Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London."
He was Lord Mayor during the three reigns of Richard II.,
Henry IV., and Henry V., having been at first sheriff in 1393.
Before leaving Highgate no one should omit a visit to the
Highgate or North London Cemetery, consecrated by the
Bishop of London in May, 1839. The grounds, comprising an
area of about twenty acres, form a portion of that side of
Highgate Hill which faces the metropolis. They are entered
from a lane on the west by a little gothic building. To the
left is the chapel, and broad gravel paths wind in each
direction, through flowery partcn-es, clumps of evergreens,
and picturesque combinations of trees. An Egyptian archway
forms the entrance to the catacombs, where a fine cypress-tree,
C2

20 ISLINGTON.

in the central compartment, flings a congenial shadow over
the solid masonry beneath. The terrace which runs at the foot
of the church commands an extensive view over London and
the adjacent country.

Again resorting to omnibus conveyance, the excursionist
can either go through Holloway and Islington, or to Camden
Town, as his desires may tend ; but he must not forget, if he
returns through Islington, that the old tavern called "The
Queen Elizabeth's Head" has some noticeable antique furniture
and apartments, with the real Whittington Stone, it is said,
for its threshold — ^that Canonbury has an old Manor House,
formerly belonging to the Priory of St. Bartholomew at Smith-
field — and that at the old tavern of " The Red Lion," in St.
John Street Road, the notorious Thomas Paine wrote some of
the works that gave rise to such endlesss law proceedings with
Carlile and others.

A day may well be devoted to this excursion, but, omitting
Finchley, the whole can be comfortably explored with the aid
of omnibii in the course of a summer's afternoon.

EXCURSION n.

HARROW— THE LONDON AND BIESHNGHAM RAILWAY—
KEXSAL GREEN— WILLESDEN—HARROW-ON-THE-HILL—HAR-
KOW CHURCH— THE SCHOOL— BYRON'S FAVORITE SPOT—
GREENFORD—HANWELL— JONAS HANWAY— EALING— ACTON
BERRYMEAD PRIORY— NOTTING HILL AND BAYSWATER.

Fbom Euston Square to Harrow, by the London and Bir-
mingham Railway, is a rapid railroad transit of nine and a
half miles; and, as few would prefer to this speedy travelling
the slower progress along the Harrow road, by Paddington
and Westboume Green, we shall assume that this is the route
chosen. Possessed, therefore, of a ticket to the Harrow station,
we can leisurely glance at the intervening objects we encounter
on our way, as we effectually shorten, by the aid of steam, the
time occupied in our journey. Passing through the Primrose
Hill Tunnel, which is 1,120 yards in length, and the excavation
of which occupied a period of three years, we are next carried
under the Edgeware Road, and beneath a number of bridges,
chiefly used for connecting private property severed by the
line. Three miles from the Primrose-Hill Tunnel we come to
the Kensal Green Tunnel, 960 feet in length, the celebrated
cemetery being on the other side, and forming of itself a place
worthy of pilgrimage, from the number of eminent individuals
who are entombed within its limits ; branches of royalty itself,
in the persons of the Duke of Sussex and the Princess Sophia,
having, in 1843 and 1848, been added to the other illustrious
names. At a small cottage adjacent, demolished in 1837,
Goldsmith wrote the " Deserted Village" and the " Vicar of
Wakefield." Some modem villas have lately been built
npon the site. In the Abbey Field, at Kilbum, stood a
Priory, once famous for a medicinal spring. At Willesden

22 HARROW.

is a plain Saxon church, enjoying the traditionary reputation
of being the burial place of the novel-renowned Jack
Sheppai'd; and the cage, where he was once in " durance
vile," is still to be seen. A richly pastoral country is next
traversed, and crossing over the Brent by a viaduct, and
winding round the hill, where the spire of the village church
is seen rising above the trees, we alight at our destination.

The Harrow Station is rather more than a mile from Har-
row, lying in the valley below. Crossing the green meadows
that form our pathway until we reach the foot of the hill,
where the slope becomes much steeper, the view from the
summit will be found to deserve all the encomiums that have
been so lavishly bestowed upon it. The hill, rising almost
isolated from an extensive plain, with the church and school
on one side, and the old churchyard sloping on the other,
forms in itself a combination of objects inexpressibly attractive
and picturesque; but when the eye ranges over the vast
expanse, and the landscape is lit up by the gorgeous sunset of
a summer's eve, the prospect becomes positively fascinating.
On the north it is limited by the woody country round Edge-
ware and Whitchurch, but from the west there is included
within the scope of vision the most fertile portions of Buckings
hamshire and Berkshire, with more to the south the towers of
Windsor Castle; thence we catch a glimpse of Knockholt
Beeches, on the very verge of Sussex, and the sweeping
undulation of the Sun-ey Hills, whilst, about ten miles away,
half shrouded in its canopy of smoke, looms the great metro-
polis, vnth. the rotundity of St. Paul's dome gleaming in the
sunlight like a ball of golden fire.

The church is less remarkable in its exterior than a distant
view would induce us to suppose. It was founded by Arch-
bishop Lanfranc, who held the manor of Harrow in the warlike
days of William the Conqueror. A few fragments of the Nor-
man architect are to be descried in the pillars of the western
porch, but time and the race of churchwardens — scarcely less
ioimical to antiquity — have nearly obliterated eveiy vestige

HABKOW. 23

of the old edifice of eight centuries back. The retort of
Charles 11., who called this the only manifestation of "the
Chui'ch visible," is borne out by its spire and tower being
conspicuous for many miles round. The interior contains
some fine old tombs and monumental brasses, with an oak-
carved roof, as ancient as the fourteenth century, ornamented
with some grotesque evidences of the carver's skill. A monu-
ment to Dr. Drury, by Westmacott, on the north side of the
nave, represents the schoolmaster seated, with two of his
pupils standing before him — the likenesses identifying them
with Sir Eobert Peel and Lord Byron. Sir Samuel Garth, the
poetic physician, who compounded drugs with doggrel, and
mixed up medicine with metaphors, till it was difiScult to say
which was the worst to swallow, is also here interred. Besides
a marble tablet, with an inscription by Dr. Parr, there is a
brass monument in the nave, over the body of the founder of
Harrow School, whose liberahty is commemorated in the
following inscription: — " Here lyeth buried the bodye of John
Lyons, late of Preston, in this Parish, Yeoman, deceased the
11th day of October, in the year of our Lord 1592, who hath
founded a fi'ee grammar school in the parish to have continu-
ance for ever, and for maintenance thereof and for releyffe of
the poore and of some poore scholars in the Universityes,
repairing of highwayes, and other good and charitable uses,
hath made conveyance of lands of good value to a coi"poration
granted for that purpose. Prayers be to the Author of all
Goodness, who makes us myndfid to follow his good example."
Having thus seen the last resting-place of the founder, we may
naturally turn to the school itself, a plain red brick building,
in the Tudor style, which, though it may be considered as one
of the most renowned of our public institutions for educational
purposes, is singularly deficient in exterior attractions. John
Lyon established it in 1585. All resident householders in the
parish of Harrow have the inalienable right of sending their
6ons to this grammar-school to receive instruction, but other
parts of the country are the main source of the pupils, who

24 HARROW.

chiefly board with the masters. The worthy founder cveB
specified ia his instractions what the amusements of the
scholars were to be — such as " driving a top, tossing a hand-
ball, running and shooting." He required parents to furnish
their children with bowstrings and shafts, to pursue the exer-
cise— much in the same way as academies now. require the
parental offering of the six towels and silver spoon, which
seldom come back with the boarders — and it was customary,
till a very recent period, for the scholars to shoot for a silver
arrow at an annual display of archery. The pupils being,
however, now expected to be "men of mark" in a different
sense, trials of skill by public speech have been wisely sub-
stituted. The number of scholars is generally about 250, and
among the most eminent of those who have been here educated
may be mentioned the names of Sir William Jones, Dr. Parr,
(the most profound of our Greek professors), Sheridan, Bruce
(the Abyssinian traveller), Sir Robert Peel, and Lord Byron,
who has, perhaps, more largely than any of the rest contributed
to the interest attached to the locality. He is still remembered
by some of the old village sexagenarians as a wild, racketty
and romantic boy, ready for any fight, frolic, or diversion that
might present an opportunity for getting out of bounds. He
himself tells us, in one of the letters given in Moore's life, of
the regard he had for a particular spot in the churchyard,
"near a footpath on the brow of the hill looking towards
Windsor, and a tomb under a large tree (bearing the name of
Peachey or Peachie), where I used to sit for hours and hours
when a boy." He echoed this sentiment afterwards in verse,
as follows: —

" Again I behold where for hours I hare pondered.
As reclining at eve on yon tombstone I lay,
Or round the steep brow of the churchyard I wandered,
To catch the last gleam of the sun's setting ray."

As besides there can be no place better fitted for meditation
than a country churchyard, it may be some satisfaction to
choose the same spot with the poet, and thence survey the

HA5IWEIX. 25

very panorama that so often delighted him who, self-expatriated
while he lived, Avas destined to be, when dead, excluded from
that niche in Poet's Comer which his own genius and English
justice had a right to demand.

Taking the footpath to Wembly, which leads from the end
of Harrow Church through a delightfully rural district, the
pedestrian can skirt the large domain of Wembly Park, and
rejoin the railway, homeward bound, at the Willesden Station,
But, if he should not be pressed for time, nor indisposed by
fatigue, we by all means suggest an extension of his walk
through Sudbury and Greenford to the Hanwell Station on
the Great Western Railway. It is about five miles distant, but
the road leads through the most secluded and beautiful por-
tions of what is called the Vale of Middlesex. Greenford
Church is small, but very ancient, and has some brasses and
tombs to repay a passing inspection. In that part of the river
Brent which meanders between Greenford and Perivale,
sanguine piscators have stoutly maintained the excellence of
the pike and trout to be found therein, and the disciples of
Izaak Walton are frequently encountered, with rod and line,
along its margin. The WhamclifFe \-iaduct, a massive and
elegant structure raised upon eight arches, and extending over
a length of three hundred yards, is a conspicuous feature of
the Great Western Railway as we approach Hanwell, which
has antiquity enough to figure in tlie early records as one of
the places given by King Edgar to Westminster Abbey. The
new gothic church, built, at a cost of £4,000, in 1841, on the
site of the old one, has been much and deservedly admired,
and blends harmoniously with the surrounding scenery as the
spectator comes in view of it from the Uxbridge Road. In the
churchyard adjoining lies interred the eccentric Jonas Han-
way, who has been generally accredited as the first who
introduced the umbrella into this country, and who, setting
the example by always carrying one himself, encountered
such opposition among the prejudiced as to cause it to be
denounced as " a profane attempt to ward off from man the

26 EALIKO — ACTON.

rain that fell from heaven." His biographer, Pugh, says thai
" after carrying one for nearly thirty years he saw them come
into general use," so that, as Jonas died in the year 1786, this
statement enables us to fix his first appearance with an
umbrella about the year 1756. But the greatest object of
interest in Hanwell is unquestionably the County Lunatic
Asylum, which now contains upwards of 1,400 inmates. The
grounds are laid out with much taste, and with spacious
apartments, indulgent directors, kind attendants, and an im-
proved treatment, those who recover from these melancholy
attacks of mental aberration are much more numerous than
formerly. One of the most striking changes in the manage-
ment has been that arising from the complete abolishment of
personal restraint. In June 1839, when Dr. Conolly was
appointed superintendent of the Hanwell Asylum, 40 patients,
out of the 800 it then contained, were almost constantly
strapped down. In 1844 he added in his report that, " by the
abolition of restraint the general management of the insane
has been freed from many difficulties, and their recovery in
various degrees greatly promoted." Since this period the system
so successfully adopted here has been pursued with the same
advantages elsewhere. The medical assistants are all gentle-
men of the highest standing in the profession, and Dr.
Conolly has two able coadjutors in Dr. Hitchman and Mr.
Aulsebrook. The Charity School, founded in 1484, has an
endowment of £100 per annum. Either by road or rail the
excursionist will hence return through Ealing and Acton.
Ealing Church was built in 1739, but besides a tomb to Old-
mixon, a dramatist of little note, there is nothing wortliy of
mention. It is a plain brick structure, with a square tower and
turret. Henry Fielding, the novelist and magistrate, had a
residence in this village, which has long been a favourite spot
for academies. Castlebar was the seat of the Duke of Kent.
Acton, though now connected with the metropolis by the long
line of houses by Notting Hill and Bayswater, was once a
secluded hamlet, centred in a thick forest of oaks, and hence

ACTON. 27

called Oak Town, of which its present name is a corruption.
Towards the southern part of the parish is the fine castellated
mansion, surrounded by its massive and ancient elms, known
as Berrymead Priory. It was formerly tenanted by Sir
Edward Bulwer Lytton, but has lately reverted, after cen-
turies of secular tenancy, to its original purpose as a monastic
house, having been purchased about six years since by the
sisterhood of Le Sucre Cceur de Jesus, to form a branch
convent from their principal establishment near the Chamber
of Deputies at Paris. The Convent of Berrymead contains
nearly 50 nuns, who — to their praise and unbigoted liberality
be it spoken — support out of their funds a free day school,
which is chiefly attended by Protestant children. The Earls
of Essex and Warwick made Acton their head-quarters prior
to the conflict — which now carries an odd sound with it — of
the Battle of Brentford. Shepherd's Bush, a pretty suburban
district, leads to Brook Green, on the southern extremity of
which is a Catholic School and Chapel of some celebrity,
called " The Ark." In June, 1843, an extensive Catholic
establishment was removed here from some former incon-
venient premises in King Street, Hammersmith, under the
title of the '• Convent of the Good Shephei"d." Adjoining the
convent is an " Asylum for Penitent Women," an excellent
institution, under the personal superintendence of the religious
ladies who are recognised as " the Daughters of our Lady of
Charity of the Good Shepherd." Within the last few years
no less than forty foundations have been formed from the
parent house of this religious order, branches of which are to
be met with in the most extreme parts of the earth. One of
these has been established even at Algiers, thus bringing the
African region within the scope of its mission, and there are
two in North America. The order, founded in 1651, at Caen
in Normandy, comprehends nearly 300 religious sisters, who
consecrate their life and devote their energies to the many
charitable objects which constitute the basis of the institution.
Not the least commendable among these is the reception

18 BROOK GBEEN.

afforded by them to that unfortunate class who are too often
driven by obloquy and despair to seek a refuge from the
contempt of society in the grave. The Magdalens, who are
thus sheltered from an outcast existence, live under regulations
approved by the church, and under the guidance of these
charitable sisters. They have houses of preservation, and
schools for orphans, who are subsequently adopted by the
foundation. Not having any other funds than those derived
from voluntary contributions and the work of the penitents,
the relief afforded is necessarily restricted in amount. The
" Waste Land Almshouses" are for aged inhabitants of the
parish, chiefly supported by the proceeds arising from the sale
of the waste lands. Another half-hour and we can get to
Oxford Street, and ponder over the panoramic progress we
have made round the environs, as we discuss the welcome
adjunct to our rambles in a late repast of adequate sub-
stantiality.

EXCURSION in.

CHELSEA-CREMORNE GARDENS-FULHAM-WEST LONDON
CEMETERY— THE BISHOP'S PALACE— CHISWICK— STRAND-ON-
THE-GREEN— BRENTFORD — OSTERLY HOUSE— SIGN HOUSE
AND PARK— ISLEWORTH— HOUNSLOW— SUNBURY— HARLING-
TON — NORWOOD — SOUTHALL STATION — BROMPTON AND
KNIGHTSBRIDGE.

Taking the steamboat to Chelsea — a mode of conveyance
that would marvellously have perplexed its visitors in the last
century, when the watermen at the Arundel Stairs plied
"sculls to Ranelagh," and thought themselves scantily paid
by a fare of as many shillings as we now give pence — we dis-
embark at the Cadogan Pier, and come at once under the
shade of the old trees that line the ancient parade called
Cheyne "Walk. It is not our purpose to enter into any
elaborate dissertation concerning the antiquities of a place so
well kno^^•n, but we cannot resist reminding the rambler of a
few particulars that may interest him as he passes the vene-
rable church. It is not more than two hundred years old,
though some remains of the structure built on the same site,
in the reign of Edward II., are still apparent. The monument
of Sir Hans Sloane is the first seen at the south-east comer,
and records the death of that eminent physician and natu-
ralist, in 1753, at the age of 92. Another more antique is
that to Dr. Edmund Chamberlayne, who died in 1 703, ^vith
an inscription stating, that along with the body several of the
Doctor's unpublished works are buried, having been sealed
up and thus disposed of, to render them more likely to go
down to posterity. Several attempts have been made to obtain
these, but all have proved fruitless. On the south wall, near
the east end, and in an arched recess, is Sir Thomas More's

so CHISWICK.

tomb, plainly decorated with the crest and armorial bearings
of the deceased, beneath which is a long inscription on a black
marble slab. He was executed on the 6th of July, 1535.
Beaufort Row stands upon the site of More's mansion, where
Erasmus and Holbein, the famous painter, were his frequent
guests. Turning up the lane by Cremorne Gardens, now
metamorphosed into the most popular place of public amuse-
ment near London, we pass onward through a region chiefly
cultivated by market gardeners till we come to the Fulham
Road, leading through Walham Green. The West London
Cemetery, consecrated in 1840, extends from the Fulham Road
to Sir John Scott Lillie's ground. The cemetery is open for
public inspection, free of charge, from seven to sunset daily,
except Sundays, when it is closed till noon. Opposite is the
Normal School, surrounded by a brick wall, and not far distant
is the palace of the Bishop of London, a stately mansion, girded
by a moat, and environed by gardens filled with the rarest and
most choice exotics. A road here leads to Hammersmith
Bridge, opened in 1827, and the glance at the river, with this
light and elegant structure spanning its surface, is very
pleasing. The Suspension Bridge is 20 feet wide and 688 feet
long, and cost £80,000. Bi'andenburgh House, where Queen
Caroline, the dishonored consort of George IV., fixed her
residence, is now pulled down. Continuing our way, along
the banks of the river, past the osier beds, we enter Chiswick,
and make our way at once to the church, which has a fine
old tower and some interesting monuments. From an inscrip-
tion, affixed to the western wall on a tablet, we learn that the
tower was founded by one William Bordall, the ^-icar, who
died in 1435, and this is believed to be the period of the
erection of the whole fabric. On the south side of the chancel
is the tomb of Sir Thomas Chaloner, who discovered the first
alum mines worked in England. He was a soldier too, and
did no little service to the conntrj^ ere he finally expired in
1516. Near unto him are the remains of Charles Holland, the
tragedian. Here lies Hogarth , who spent the last days of his

CHISWICK. 31

life in the neighbourhood, and who had upon his decease an
epitaph from Garrick, which is, perhaps, the best and happiest
efFort of that actor-author's pen. Being the inscription, and
still sufficiently legible, quotation is needless. Loutherbourg,
the artist, the Duchesses of Cleveland, and Somerset, and a
few others who made some stir in the world, after their various
fashions, are also buried within the churchyard. A narrow
path between two brick walls, on the opposite side of the
church, will lead to Chiswick House, one of the seats of the
Duke of Devonshire. Besides possessing all the attractions
of an elegant mansion, surrounded by beautiful grounds,
originally laid out by Kent, the celebrated landscape gardener,
it is memorable as having been the place where Charles James
Fox died, in 1806, and where Canning also breathed his last,
twenty-one years afterwards. There is an obelisk and a
temple, adorned with some iine statues, as well as a lofty gate
of ratiier imposing proportions. TlieFetes of ihe Horticultural
Society dra^v numbers of visitors to the spot every year.
Just beyond the boundary of the Devonshire Estate is the
little straggling parish of Strand-on-the- Green, where Joe
Miller, to whom has been affiliated all the jokes, good, bad,
and indifferent that have shaken the sides of our ancestors
for a century, is reputed to have lived and died, if he ever
had any existence at all, which some are now disposed to
deny. Kew Bridge, replacing an old wooden one taken
down in 1789, is a neat stone structure, and forms a con-
venient communication with all parts of Surrey. Not far
distant is Heathfield House, a dilapidated structure, once
the mansion of Lord Lovat, who was executed on Tower
Hill in 1746, on a charge of high treason. We now enter
Brentford, the older part of the town being the well-remem-
bered source of George the Second's admiration, who is said
to have exclaimed, in a tone of enthusiasm, " I like to ride
through Brentford, it isli so much like Hanoverish." Recent
improvements have somewhat relieved the town from this
opprobrium. The immense chimney of the Grand Junction

32 BREKTFOBO.

Water Works is the first object that catches the eye. It ia
nearly 150 feet high, and is ascended by 120 circular iron
steps. The engines propel 30,000 gallons of water every
minute to the Paddington main to supply the metropolis.
More in the town, and nearly opposite the gas-works, is Sir
Felix Booth's famous distillery, said to be the largest in the
world : £420,000 is annually returned to Government for duty
alone, and 500 oxen are fattened on the grains. There are
some large establishments here for various purposes, particu-
larly Hazard's brewery and Rowe's soap manufactory. Osterly
House, originally erected by Sir Thomas Gresham in the reign
of Elizabeth, was rebuilt in 1760, and is now the residence of
the Earl of Jersey. There are some magnificent rooms in the
interior. Crossing Brentford Bridge, a narrow turning to the
left will conduct us to Sion Park, where is a spacious though
plain mansion, occupied by the Duke of Northumberland. In
1440 there was a convent on the site, which is said to have
had a subaqueous tunnel under the river, terminating at
Kew; and scandalously alleged to have enabled the monks,
on the other side, to pay sly visits to the fair sisters of St.
Bridget. After the manor had been granted in 1604 to the
Earl of Northumberland, tlie mansion afforded a tcmporaiy
shelter to the children of Charles I., and here Queen Anne
resided before she ascended the throne. At the southern
extremity of Sion Park we pass through a small wicket into
the pretty village of Isleworth, where the excursionist, if he
feel so disposed, can cross the Thames by ferry for a penny,
and proceed to Richmond by the banks of the river. (See
Richmond.)

Isleworth Church is ancient, with a picturesque tapestry of
ivy about the tower. An extensive tract of highly cultivated
market-ground lies about here, and hence the metropolis
derives an immense vegetable supply. A road through
Smallbury Green conducts us to Hounshw, a town which has
almost relapsed into insignificance since the opening of the
Great Western Railway. The inns are shorn of all their

HARLINGTON. 33

former glory, and it has been calculated that 1,800 horses
have been taken off the road from this place alone. In the
High Street is Trinity Church, built in the Italian style.
Hounslow Heath, the terror of travellers fifty years ago, is
now harmlessly devoted to the dwellings of peaceful house-
holders. The powder mills of Curtis and Harvey are to the
south of the town, in the midst of a copse of fir trees. There
are ban*acks for cavalry, that are wont to exercise on the
open grounds adjacent, Sunbury, an agreeable village on the
banks of the Thames, is about three miles from the powder
mills.

Should opportunity oifer, we can specially commend a walk
of four miles from Hounslow to Harlington, a little village by
Cranford Bridge, where there is an old church with a fine
Norman porch. In the churchyard is a venerable yew tree,
said to have been growing in the year 1729, with a trunk even
then measuring twenty feet in circumference. It was sixty
feet high, and according to a local poet, one John Saxy — ^who
perpetuated its fame in verse — could have sheltered beneath
its branches a troop of horse -guards. Viscount Bolingbroke
was very partial to this spot, and D'Oyley House, where he
resided, has still a wing remaining, to attest the stability of the
Viscount's mansion. We are now three miles from the Southall
Station, and can proceed thither by Cranford Park, where the
late Countess of Berkeley lived and died, and so return by the
Great "Western Railway to town. Cranford and West Drayton
are not worth extending the walk in a more northerly direc-
tion, and if the excursionist goes from Harlington round by
Norwood, a short mUe and a half from the Southall Station,
he will be fully recompensed by the seclusion of this primitive-
looking village, which contains a church built five centuries
ago, and noticeable for its wooden belfry and tiled roof. The
route home, by the Great "Western Railway, has been already
indicated in our previous excursion.

Should the Fulham Road have been approached throngh
Knightsbridge, instead of from Chelsea, it should not be for-

34 BBOMPTON.

gotten, as we pass Sloane Street, that Han's Place, close .by, is
somewhat remarkable for the number of eminent authoresses
who have there resided, amongst whom have been Lady Caro-
line Lamb, Lady Bulwer, Miss Mitford, Miss Emma Roberts,
and Letitia Landon,the " L. E. L." of poetic memory. Bromp-
ton has long been the favorite abiding-place of actors and
authors. At Brompton Square (No. 22), died George Colman
" the younger," in October 1836, aged 74. A little beyond the
square is Brompton New Church, in which John Reeve, the
Adelphi Momus, was consigned to his last home. His tomb is
to the back of the church, on the left, and clase to the pathway.
By the " Admiral Keppel," in the Fulham Road, is a row of
houses called AmeUa Place, in the last of which Curran died,
in 1817. The tavern called the " Goat-in-Boots" has a sign
touched up, if not painted, by George Morland, the eccentric
but clever artist. The odd appellation of the inn doubtless
arose from the Dutch legend, " Mercurius is der Goden Boode"
(Mercury is the Messenger of the Gods), which has been
twisted into an English shape as we at present behold it.

EXCURSION IV.

STOKE NEWINGTON — STAMFORD HILL - THE NEW
RIVER — TOTTENHASI — ENFIELD — WALTHAM CROSS— CHES-
HUNT— RICHARD CROMWELL— BROXBOURNE—IZAAK WAL-
TON— HODDESDON— HERTFORD — PANSHANGER— AMWELL—
WARE— HATnELD.

Our next excursion is in a northerly direction, and may be
comfortably accomplished in a day, Avith the aid of omnibuses
and short stages, interspersed with a little pedestrianism.
Taking a conveyance from either the Bank or Bishopsgate
Street to Stoke Newington, which is three miles from Shore-
ditch, we may first alight to look at the church, an interesting
antique structure, with some curious monuments. At a house
in Church Street, more prominently venerable than the rest,
Daniel De Foe resided, and is said within those very walls to
have written " Robinson Crusoe." There is no necessity for
another word to enchain the attention of the spectator — the
old building becomes in a moment encompassed with a halo
of glory, and the familiar associations inseparably linked with
the Desert (Island come thronging up around us as we gaze.
A little further on Mrs. Ireton, the daughter of Cromwell, once
lived, for in her day this was the fashionable suburb ; and a
few doors beyond, at a house somewhat similar in its primitive
aspect to that we have pointed out as De Foe's, the kind-
hearted Dr. Watts fixed his dweUing. Howard the Philan-
thropist— what a noble distinctive adjunct to a name I — Dr.
Aiken, Mrs. Barbauld, and others of similarly peaceful literaiy
pursuits, were long inhabitants of these precincts, and it is just
the kind of tranquil locality one would fancy them to have
chose«. At the back of the church is a lane lined with lofty
trees, known as " Queen Elizabeth's Walk," and at the end is
I> 2

36 WOOD GBEEN.

a building where she is said to have held her assignations with
the Earl of Leicester. Abney Park Cemetery, on the site of
the Manor House belonging to Sir Thomas Abney, the
intimate friend of Dr. Watts, is set apart for Dissenters, and
has some grounds neatly laid out. Stamford HiU, overlooking
the pleasant valley of the Lea, is a little further on, and
amongst its elegant villas is one belonging to the Rothschilds'.
Kear here is the New River reservoir, which supplies London
with water. During the thirty miles of its course, it is crossed
by 215 bridges. The descent not being great enough, a huge
steam pump is kept going night and day, which forces it up to
the snmmit of the highest houses. Sir Hugh Myddleton, the
originator of this noble scheme, fixed upon two springs in
Hertfordshire for the source, one near Ware at Chadwell, the
other at Amwell. After many delays, the work was commenced
on the 20th of February, 1608. In about five years it was
completed, and in 1 622 the skilful and enterprising " citizen
and goldsmith" was knighted. For eighteen years afterwards
it yielded no dividend, and then but a trifle ; now a share is
worth £14,000. About thirty million gallons of water are
daily distributed through the pipes of the company.

On the high road between Homsey, Tottenham, and South-
gate, is Wood Green, as charming a spot as its sylvan name
implies, and one of the many niral nooks with which the
environs abound. On one side of the Green a district church
of stone, in the early English style, with a bell gable, has been
lately erected in excellent taste. Here is the Asylum of " The
Fishmongers' and Poulterers' Institution," of which the first
stone was laid by Lord Morpeth in June, 1847. It is a cleverly
designed building, of the Elizabethan character, and the central
portion especially, with its towers and vanes, very eflectively
picturesque. The plot of ground attached comprises nearly
four acres, so that there ^vill be ample room in this happy
haven for the peaceful enjoyment of those who may seek in it
a retreat from the storms of life and consolation in beclouded
old age. On the opposite side of the church (as appears from

TOTTENHAM. 37

an inscription) the Letter-press Printers of London have
selected a plot of ground, for the erection of almshouses for
the aged members of their profession. A more salubrious spot
could not have been chosen; and we understand that the
first stone of the asylum will shortly be laid. W. Webb, Esq.,
the architect of the Fishmongers' and Poulterers' Institution,
has also been selected to erect that of the Printers. How
glorious the thought, in threading the environs of our great
metropolis, that almost every pleasant nook has been made
available for such philanthropic designs as these neighbouring
and kindred institutions.

On the same road, two miles from Stoke Newington, is
Tottenham with its ancient cross, one of those erected by
Edward L in 1290, as an affectionate remembrance of it being
one of the funeral resting places of Eleanor, his deceased
Queen. The station of the Eastern Counties Railway is a
short distance from the town. Two miles further is Edmonton,
linked with the humours of the adventurous flight of John
Gilpin, as recorded by Cowper, and which are perpetuated
pictorially by a painting over the " Bell" Inn. The church
in Lower Edmonton has got some attractions in its old tower
of three centuries back, but the remaining portion was rebuilt
in 1772. This is now also a railway station. Winchmore Hill,
a mile to the west, is a favourite suburban retreat. Enfield
has nothing to boast of now but the memory of its " Chase,"
an extensive tract of woodland, formerly a favorite hunting
ground for royalty, but disafforested in 1777. White Webbs,
near Enfield Wash, was whei'e the associates of Guy Fawkes
retired to await the result of the Gunpowder Plot. Skirting
the woody glades of Theobalds Park, where Lord Burleigh
built a palace in the reign of Elizabeth, and where James I.
died in 1625, we enter Hertfordshire, and approach the neat
town of Waltham Cross, eleven miles from town by the road,
and a railway station of the Eastern Counties. The cross that
gives name to the place was restored in 1834, and is a fine
specimen of the pointed style of architecture in vogue about

38 CHESflTJNT.

the thirteenth century, in the last ten years of winch it was
originally built. It is one of about fifteen that were erected by
King Edward I., in memory of his affectionate and devoted
wife, Eleanor of Castile, to mark the spot where the bier rested
for the night in the long and melancholy journey which he
himself made with it from Herdely in Nottinghamshire, near
which place she died, to Westminister Abbey, where her
remains were interred in the Chapel of Edward the Confessor.
It is of an hexagonal form, and divided into three compart-
ments, each presenting a statue of the Queen. The cross is
adjoining the Falcon Inn, a little out of the main road as you
go down to the railway station.

Cheshunt, two miles further, is chiefly noticeable for its park,
where Wolsey had a temporary residence, and where Richard
Cromwell, the son of the Protector, and himself the brief
possessor of a similar dignity, passed the quiet hours of his
peaceful life. To avoid the curiosity of visitors he went fcr
some time under a feigned name, sometimes calling himself
Mr. Wallis, and more generally Mr. Richard Clark. He was
then a quiet country old gentleman, who seemed contented to
forget all his former family greatness. Dr. Watts used fre-
quently to come over from Stoke Newington and pay him a
visit, and he used to say that he never heard him allude to his .
former station except once, and then only in a very distant
manner. Here he hunted, shot, hawked, and fished to the last
year of his green old age. It is reported that he enjoyed an
uninterrupted state of health, and that when he was 80 years
old he could gallop his horse for miles without drawing rein
or feeling fatigue. Richard Cromwell died here at the age of
86, in 1712, the last year of the reign of Queen Anne. His
remains were removed with some pomp from Hertfordshire to
Hampshire, and deposited near those of his beloved wife
Dorothy, and his son Oliver, in the chancel of Hnrsley Church.
Several Roman coins have been found in the neighbourhood.

Broxhoume, the next place of interest, is sixteen miles from
town, and a pleasant fishing station, on the Cambridge line of

BBOXBOCBN£. 39

the Eastern Counties Eailway, near where the branch diverges
to Hertford and Ware. The church is old, with some handsome
monuments, and the country round is pastoral and well watered
by the Stort and Lea. Crossing the little bridge over the railway,
it is worth while to visit Want's hostel, and whilst enjoying a
flsh dinner, which you can have here in perfection, with
" chops to follow," in the most approved city fashion, indulge
in a reminiscence of old Izaak Walton, who hath so intimately
associated himself with the scenery hereabout. The " flowery
meads" and the " crystal streams," on which he loved so much
to descant, are Uttle changed by time. We can almost point
out the spot where he gives his precepts to the scholar, as they
sit and discourse, whilst " a smoking shower passes off, freshen-
ing all the meadows and the flowers," and fancy the exact
honeysuckle hedge where they did once rest " while a shower
falls, and encounter a handsome milkmaid and her mother,
who sing to them that smooth song, which was made by Kit
Marlow — 'Come, live with me and be my love,' and the
answer to it, which was made by Sir Walter Ealeigh, and
sung by him in his younger days." And we can swear to the
identity of the little ale-house, well known to Piscators, wheie
they found " a cleanly room, with lavender in the windows,
and twenty ballads stuck about the walls," and where, ha\-ing
made a supper of their gallant trout, they drink their ale, tell
tales, sing ballads, or join with a brother angler, who drops in,
in a merry catch till sleep overpowers them and they retire to
their hostess's two beds, the " linen of which looks white and
smells of lavender," whilst old Izaak sheds his last benediction
on " all that are lovers of virtue and dare trust in Pro\'i-
dence and go a-angling." Who hath not felt the luxuriant
freshness which abideth for ever in the pages of the " Complete
Angler?"

Hoddesdon is peculiarly noted for some of the oldest inns in
the county, and for a fine water conduit in the centre of the
town, the gift of Sir Marmaduke Kawdon, in 1679, and com-
memorated by the poet Matthew Prior. Eawdon House is a

40 HEBTFOBD.

venerable mansion, recently restored from the state of decay
into which it had fallen a few years back, and should be visited
by all who have an eye for the picturesque of architecture. At
Haileybury, north of the road, is the East India College,
founded in 1806, for the scientific education of the civil
officers sent out to India. The Oriental languages arc here
taught to about a hundred students.

Hertford, the county town, is five miles from Hoddesdon,
and twenty-one miles from Shoreditch Church, by the road,
agreeably situated on the Lea near its junction with four
smaller rivers, and in the midst of a fine agricultural district,
long famous for its growth of com. It has all the importance
derived from antiquity, and once had a castle, where Queen
Elizabeth resided, and John, King of France, and David, King
of Scotland, were both kept prisoners of war. The wall and
mound are still visible, but a private residence was about a
century ago erected on its site. Besides the two remaining
parish churches — there were once five — the County Hall and
the Preparatory School for Christ's Hospital are the chief
public buildings. This admirable scholastic establishment is
in the London Road, and affords education to about 400 boys
and 80 girls, having an infirmary for 100 children, whenever
occasion should require. Two miles from Hertford, on the
banks of the river Maran, is Penshanger, the seat of Earl
Cowper, who has claimed the honor of a descent from the
poet. In the park, which is laid out in a pretty sylvan style,
is a remarkable oak, measuring at five feet from the ground
nearly seventeen feet in circumference. Amwell, the chief
source of the New River supply, is three miles from Hertford,
and worth the pilgrimage to its picturesque precincts. The
spring issues from a hill on which the church is built, and
there is a monument here to the memory of Sir Hugh Myd-
delton, erected in 1800, which records the success of his
experiment. The family seem to have derived little benefit
from the enterprise and exertions of their ancestor. Lady
Myddelton, the mother of the last Sir Hugh, received a

WABE. 41

pension of twenty pounds per annum from tlie Goldsmiths'
Company.

Ware is so closely linked to Hertford, by its two miles of
intermediate buildings, that few who visit Hertford would
leave the neighbourhood ^vithout going to Ware, if only on
account of the famous Great Bed, which has enjoyed, in
legendary lore and antiquarian history, a reputation of some
six centuries. The curious may behold this remarkably antique
piece of furniture at the Saracen's Head Hotel, from which
the late Duke of Norfolk offered to take it to Arundel Castle,
for a consideration of 100 guineas; but the proprietor of the
inn manfully resisted the temptation. The dimensions, how-
ever much beyond modem dormitory notions, are somewhat
disappointing — 12 feet square being the superficies covered.
Antiquarians differ, much as usual, about its origin, but the
majority assign it to the time of Edward the Second, whose
state bed it is presumed to have been. The church contains
some brasses dating back to 1454, and there is a tomb com-
memorative of Elizabeth de Clare, grand-daughter of Edward I.
Sir Henr)' Fanshaw, to whom Ware Park belonged in 1625,
is also buried here.

Hatfield, seven miles from Hertford, and five from St.
Alban's, is a deUghtful drive when opportunity offers. Hat-
field House, the seat of the Earl of Salisbury, is a fine old
mansion in the Elizabethan style, and was honored, in the
autumn of 1846, by a visit from her present Majesty. It was
originally the palace of the Bishop of Ely, and was rebuilt by
Sir Robert Cecil, afterwards Earl of Salisbury, in the early
part of the reign of James I. In 1835 a portion of the west
Aving was destroyed by fire, and the dowager Marchioness
burned to death, since wliich period it has been closed to the
public. On the right, at the end of the avenue in the Park, is
" Queen Elizabeth's oak," said to be the tree under which
Elizabeth was sitting when the news of Queen Mary's death
was brought to her. A great part of the trunk has been pro-
tected by a leaden covering and enclosed by a low fence. The

4S HATFIELD.

garden adjoining the remains of the old palace is a quaint
specimen of Elizabeth's horticultural taste, and contains a
rock-work basin of water, with at each angle a mulberry tree,
reputed to have been planted by King James, her successor.
The celebrated vineyard was cleared away a few years ago,
and is now turned into a kitchen garden. The interior is
magnificently appointed, and within the last three years no
less than £50,000 have been expended on the embellishments.
The views from the mansion are exceedingly fine. To the
west is the venerable Abbey Church of St. Albans, then
Sandridge Hill, and Brockett Hall and Park, the seat of Lord
Melbome, appear, with Wood Hall Parks towards the north ;
Digswell House, Tewin "Water, and Panshanger, lay to the
east; and the south presents two interesting localities in
Gobions, near North Mims, once a, seat of Sir Thomas More,
and Tyttenhanger, once the residence of the powerftil Abbots
of Saint Albans, to which, in 1528, Henry VHI. and Queen
Katherine retired for the summer season.

We have here made a somewhat extensive detour, but the
excursionist can consult his own inclination as to the way in
which he shall avail himself of the means of progress to the
localities indicated. Be it remembered, however, that the line
of the Eastern Counties Railway passes for some distance
almost parallel with his route. There are stations at Waltham
(14 miles by railway), Broxboume (19), St. Margarets (22),
Ware (24j), and Hertford (26), at either of which he can take
the train, and so return to town. Or the return from Hatfield
can be varied by taking the road back through Chipping
Bamet, Whetstone, and Highgate, a distance of twenty miles.
Coaches and minor conveyances pass along what may still be
called the " Great North Road" several times a day.

EXCURSION V.

GREAT "WnBSTERN RAILWAY -SLOUGH-WINDSOR—
WIXKSOK CASTLE— SAIKT GEOIIGE'S CHAPEL— THE EOUND
TOWEPv— AKRAXGEilENTS OF ADMISSION— THE STATE APAKT-
MENTS-THE SLOPES— WINDSOR PARK— THE LONG WALK-
EQUESTRIAN STATUE OF GEORGE III.— VIRGINIA WATER—
BELVIDERE— THE CASCADE-FISHING TEMPLE— THE GRE-
CIAN RUIN— BISHOPSGATE— SHELLEY— STOKE POGIS-GRAY—
BURNHAM BEECHES.

For the accomplishment of this we must resort to steam,
and the locomotive powers of the Great Western Eaihvay,
which M'ill enable us to alight at the Slovgh Station, and bring
us within a short distance of the many interesting localities
that will occupy the busy day before us. Slough is 1 8 miles
from the Paddington Terminus, and within three miles of
Windsor, to which an omnibus will convey the passenger for
a small charge. Crossing the bridge, which spanning the
Thames connects Eton with Windsor, we may glance at the
celebrated college, founded in 1442 by Henry VI., console our-
selves with a passing quotation from Gray's ode on a distant
prospect of its towers, for the bygone glories of its vanished
" Montem," and then enter the royal town, that has been for
centmies the chosen seat of the kings and queens of England.
Windsor Park and Windsor Castle possess, with the surround-
ing scenery, inexhaustible attractions for the stranger, and lose
none of their charms even after an acquaintance of several
years. So long back as the days of the early Saxons, when
Windkshora was its name, from the windings of the Thames,
a castle stood at Old Windsor, appropriated to the crown as a
palatial residence. William the Conqueror next built a far
better structure on the present site, and laid the foundation of

44 WIXDSOB.

its future importance. Here Henry I, held his court, and hav-
ing enlarged the castle with " many fair buildings," kept tht
festiral of Whitsuntide with xmusual solemnities in 1110. In
the time of Stephen it was the second fortress in the kingdom,
and sustained several changes of masters during the wars
between the crown and the barons, in the turbulent reigns of
John and Henry HL Edward the Third was bom here, and
extended the structure, on a most expensive scale, in 1356.
William of Wykeham was the architect, and it is recorded
that in one year 660 workmen were impressed to be employed
at the king's wages — no very liberal remuneration, we may be
«ure, when the architect himself had only a shilling a day.
The festivals of the Order of the Garter were here celebrated
with great splendour. For the especial service of this order,
Edward HL erected at Windsor a chapel dedicated to St.
George, but the present beautiful chapel is of much later date.
It was begun by Edward IV., who found it necessary to take
down the original fabric, on account of its decayed state, and
was not completed until the beginning of Henry the Eighth's
reign- It was here that Richard IL heard the appeal of high
treason brought by the Duke of Lancaster against Mowbray
poke of Norfolk, and which ended in the former becoming
Henry IV. The Earl of Surrey, imprisoned for violating the
canons of the church by eating flesh in Lent, here wooed the
muse in his retirement, and here was the last prison of that
unfortunate monarch, Charles I. Passing over the intermediate
reigns, as presenting little of interest in connection with the
building, we may mention that George HI. dwelt for many
years in a white-washed house, at the foot of his own palace,
till he was perstiaded at length to occupy the old castle.
George IV., soon after his succession, commenced some exten-
sive improvements, and, under the superintendance of Sir
Jefirey Wyatville, it was thoroughly renovated, and in many
portions rebuilt. With this brief preparatory glance at its
former history, we now proceed up Castle Street, and com-
mence our rapid survey of its most prominent features.

friNDSOB. 4ft

The usual entrance is under Henry the Eighth's gateway;
leading to the lower ward, and close to that magnificent
specimen of Gothic architecture, St, George's Chapel Though
this building and its decorations are pre-eminently beautiful,
it is perfectly of a devotional character. The richly decorated
roof, supported on clustered columns, the " storied windows,
richly dight," the banners and escutcheons of the knights of
the garter, and the massive floor of marble, all unite to produce
a striking and impressive effect. As works of art, the monu-
ments in the chapel are, perhaps, disappointing. Edward IV.
is buried here, beneath that remarkable specimen of elaborate
ingenuity, the iron tomb of Quintin Matsys, the artist-black-
smith of Antwerp ; and in the opposite aisle, under a plain
marble stone, his unhappy rival, Henry VI., is interred. Henry
Vm. and Charles I. are entombed under the choir, without any
memorial, and there is a cenotaph, by Wyatt, to the memory
of the Princess Charlotte. At the foot of the altar is a subter-
raneous passage, communicating with the tomb house, in
which is the cemetery of the present race of monarchs,
containing, amongst others, the remains of George HI. and
Queen Charlotte, George IV., William IV., the Duke of
York, Duke of Kent, and the Princesses Amelia, Augusta,
and Charlotte. From the east end of the lower ward we pass
into the middle ward, bounded by a low battlement, enclosing
a deep moat cultivated as a garden. The Bound Tower, with
the royal standard floating from the summit, hence appears to
great advantage, and twelve counties are within its ken.
This " keep," as it is sometimes called, as it formed the prison
of the castle till 1660, is not a perfect circle, for it is 192 feet
in its greatest diameter, and 93 in its smallest; its height is
80 feet from the top of the mound ; watch tower twenty-five
more; and its entire height, fi-om the level of the quadrangle,
148 feet. In the Great Quadrangle, at the base of the Round
Tower, is a bronze statue of Charles H., erected, in 1679, at
the expense of one Tobias Rustah, described by Evelyn as " a
very simple, ignorant, but honest and loyal creature," and

46 WINDSOR.

who thus bestowed a thousand pounds. The pedestal, by
Grinling Gibbons, is very lino. On the north side of tliis
quadrangle is King John's Tower, and the space between this
and the massive square tower beyond is occupied by the
Queen's Audience Chamber, at which the suite of state apart-
ments commences. The projecting doorway is the state
entrance, on a line with which is the vestibule, continued
through to George the Fourth's Tower in the North Terrace,
whence there is a magnificent vista of nearly three miles.
The North Terrace is open every day; the others, only on
Saturdays and Sundays. Whilst on this subject, we may as
well append the other regulations of admission. St. George's
Chapel is open daily, during Divine service, at half-past 10,
a.m., and half-past 4, p.m. The Bound Tower is open daily.
The State Apartments on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays,
and Saturdays; hours from U till 6.

Within our prescribed limits it is manifestly impossible to
give more than a mere enumeration of the State Apartments,
which form a series unequalled in Europe for magnificence.

Approaching through the gothic porch at the north-west
angle of the upper ward, we are led by a fine staircase to
the Audience Chamber, hung with Gobelin tapestry, and
embellished with a painted ceiling by Verrio. The Presence
Chamber, or Ball-room, for which purpose it is generally
appropriated, is a spacious apartment, 90 feet long, 32 broad,
and 33 feet high, opening, at the southern end, into St
George's Hall, and terminating at Cornwall Tower on the
North Terrace. The decorations are in the Louis Quatorze
style. The Vandycke Room comprises a fine collection of the
works of that eminent master, twenty-two in number. The
" Five Children of Charles the First," over the chimney piece,
and a picture representing that unfortunate monarch on
horseback, at the end of the room, are particularly admired.
The Guard Chamber is very attractive to visitors, and is 78
feet long and 31 feet high. It contains Chantrey's colossal
bust of Nelson, and part of the foremast of the Victory; the

WINDSOB. 4?

Blenheim white banner; a bust of the Duke of Marlborough;
Cellini's silver shield, inlaid with gold, presented by Francis I.,
of France, to Henry VIII. ; and a bust, by Chantrey, of the
Duke of Wellington, with the last annual banner presented
on the Waterloo anniversary, in memory of the tenure by
which Strathfieldsaye is held. The walls are decorated with
arms. St. George's Hall, with its portraits of eleven of our
latest sovereigns, and the Waterloo Gallery, pictorially pre-
senting the most eminent statesmen and soldiers connected
with that decisive battle, are sure to engage the visitor's
attention. The other apartments are enriched with numerous
paintings by the most distinguished masters, but the catalogues
describing them are so cheap, and so complete, that it would
be useless for us to encroach on pages that might be much
better occupied than by giving a mere list of pictures, which
space would not permit us to dwell upon as they deserve.

Beneath the North Terrace are the Slopes, extending into
the Home (or Little) Park, which has been for a long period
an appurtenance to the castle. Near the avenue called
" Queen Elizabeth's Walk" tradition still points out a
^^•ithered tree as the identical oak of "Heme the Hunter,"
who, as the old tale goes,

" Sometime a keeper here in Windsor Forest,
Doth all the winter time, at still midnight,
Walk round about the oak with great ragged horns."

The Long Walk, affording perhaps the finest vista of the kind
in the world, extends from the principal entrance of the castle
to the top of a commanding hill in the Great Park, called
Snow Hill, a distance of three miles. There is a splendid
prospect at the end, affording a panoramic view of several
memorable places, endeared by historical and poetic associa-
tions, A mile to the eastward, on the same hilly ridge where
we stand, is " Cooper's Hill," the subject of a pleasant descrip-
tive poem by Sir John Denham ; Windsor Castle appears in
all its massive grandeur beneath us; to the right is the

49 frmosoR.

Thames, seen beyond Charter Island, and the little plain of
Runnymede, where the turbulent barons extorted " Magna
Charta" from King John ; whilst far beyond, in the blue
distance, are the hills of Harrow and Hampstead. On the
summit of this hill, where the avenue terminates, was placed,
in the summer of 1832, a colossal bronze equestrian statue of
George the Third, by Westmacott. The total elevation is
more than 50 feet; the statue, without the pedestal, being 26
feet high. The likeness is very striking, but the Roman
costume, adopted as being more manageable in art than a
square-cut coat and military jack boots, will convey an odd
notion, a thousand years hence, of the King of England's dress
in the nineteenth century.

Of course, those who can afford the time will not leave
Windsor Park without seeing Virginia Water, which was
planted and the lake formed by Paul Sandby, when the Duke
of Cumberland, the hero of Culloden, resided at the lodge,
which still bears his name, about three miles from Windsor.
The lake is the largest artificial piece of water in the kingdom,
if that can be called artificial where man has only collected
the streams of the district into a natural basin. The surround-
ing scenery is exceedingly pleasing and picturesque. After
passing through a woody dell, we come to some serpentine
walks, which lead in different directions ; those to the right
conducting us to a somewhat steep hill, on the summit of
which stands a handsome gothic battlemented building, called
the Belvidere ; and those to the left leading to the margin of
the lake. At the head of the lake is a cascade, descending
some twenty feet, over massive fragments of stone, mto
a dark glen or ravine. Near it is an obelisk standing on a
small mount, and bearing the following inscription, added by
William IV. : — " This obelisk was raised by the conunand of
George II., after the battle of Culloden, in commemoration of
the services of his son William, Duke of Cumberland, the
success of his arms, and the gratitude of his father," There
is a road hence to the banks of the lake, where we can reach

BLACKKEST. 49

a rustic bridge, and get a fine view of the waterfall and its
cavern adjacent, formed of stones brought from Bagshot
Heath, where they indicated the ruins of a Saxon cromlech.
At the point where the lake is widest, a fishing temple was
erected by George IV.

A bold arch carries the public road to Blachnest, over a
portion of the grounds, and adjoining is an ornamental ruin,
called the " Temple of the Gods," manufactured from some
really antique fragments of Greek columns and pediments,
that used to lie in the court yard of the British Museum. The
effect is striking, and much more so if the spectator will for a
moment let fancy delude him into the belief that he is gazing
on a real temple of ancient Athens. The tall trees, clustering
round in one part, and in another opening on to glades of
truly sylvan aspect, impart a romantic beauty to the landscape
from this point, which utterly defies description. It is worth
while to cross the little bridge above alluded to, and, passing
one of the streams that feed the lake, pursue its windings
among the underwood, or strike into the path which leads to
Bishop" s-gate, a beautiful ■\-illage, environed by all the charms
of wood and water diversity. Here resided for some time
Shelley, who has consecrated the allurements of this spot by
some of his finest poems, written in the vicinity. There are
several ways of approaching Virginia Water, each so attractive
that it is diflScult to decide upon the best; but, by whichever
route the excursionist comes, we would suggest the adoption
of another road for the return. About two miles beyond the
to^vn of Egham is a neat wayside inn, called the " Wheat-
sheaf" from the garden of which there is direct access to the
lake. From Egham Hill a road diverges through "Windsor
Park to Reading, nineteen miles distant. A few hundred
yards above the inn is a branch road to the right, leading to
Blacknest, where there is also an entrance through the
keeper's lodge. Besides this, there is a dehghtful drive of
five miles to Virginia Water from Chertsey.

Stoke Pogis, two miles from Slough, is hallowed gronnd,

£

60 BURMHAM BEECHES.

from containing the churchyard which suggested Gray's well-
known " Elegy," as well as the remains of the pensive poet
himself. Gray died on the 30th of July, 1771, in the 55th
year of his age, and was buried, according to his own affec-
tionate wish, by the side of his mother; thus adding another
poetical association to this beautiful and classic region. Bum-
ham is a small, but most picturesque village, four miles from
Slough, with a marvellous minature forest, called " Bumham
Beeches" — the finest spot in the world for a pic-nic, and
absolutely unrivalled for the romantic character of its sylvan
scenery. There are the ruins of an Augustine Nunnery close
bj', which, though now partly fashioned into a farm-house, had
the honour of having been built by an expatriated king of the
Homans, in 1228. A pedestrian of congenial temperament,
who rambles down here in the dawn of a summer's morning,
would find it no easy matter to tear himself away before
twilight. The Great Western Railway is again our connecting
link with town, and hence the train will bear us back to those
gas-lit streets, which, in their noisy bustle and confusion, will
contrast so strangely with the sylvan glades and tranquil
solitudes from which we have just departed.

EXCURSION VI.

NORTH-WESTERN RAIL^WAY (Station EUSTOX SQUAEE)
—WATFORD— CASHIOBURY HOUSE AND PARK— ST. ALBAN'S-
THE ABBEY— TOMB OF LORD BACOX— SOPWELL NUKNERY

— KING'S LANGLEY ABBOT'S LAXGLEY NICHOLAS

BREAKSPEARE— BOXMOOR— TWOWATERS-THE RETURN BY
RAILWAY.

The North Western, or London and Birmingham Railway, is
the best and quickest mode of transit for oar present interest-
ing excursion. We have ahready described {Excursion II.')
the scenery along the line to Harrow; so, to avoid unnecessary
repetition, we shall presume a ticket has been taken to the
Watford Station, and proceed with our delineation of the
objects encountered betweeen that place and our temporary
destination. After leaving the Harrow Station, we cross in a
few minutes the Oxhey ridge, about thirteen miles from
London, and pass from Middlesex into Hertfordshire. It is
a portion of that high ground which runs round the northern
and western extremity of the former county. We next enter
the valley of the Colne, which river is formed by the junction
of several small streams uniting at North Mims; about half-
way between St. Albans and Watford, it is joined by another
stream, and then, passing Watford, it takes a western course
to Rickmansworth, and finally falls into the Thames at
Staines. Just beyond Bushey a handsome viaduct conducts
us over the Colne, and shortly after we arrive at the Watford
Station, which is about a mile from the town.

Watford, which though eighteen miles from London by

railway, is only fifteen by the road, is a busy, thriving, and

populous little town, albeit deficient in those points of

picturesque or antiquarian interest whicli are so pleasant to

k2

fi2 SAINT ALBAN's.

encounter in a trip out of town. It consists principally of one
long street, in the centre of which is the church, an ancient
structure with a fine embattled tower and lofty spire, and
containing two noticeable monuments, by Nicolas Stone, to
the two Sir Charles Morrisons. But, if Watford itself be scant
of attraction, ample amends are made by a certain large
domain at the north-west of the town, called Cashiobury, the
seat of the Earl of Essex, and said to have been anciently the
residence of the Kings of Mercia. The mansion once belonged
to the monastery of St. Albau's, and is still, though much
modernised by Sir Jeflfrey Wyatville, a fine specimen of the
castellated buildings of yore. There is within, besides some
rare articles of vertu, a good collection of modem paintings,
which are shown to visitors throughout the year, on Mondays
and Thursdays, from 1 1 till 5. The park is an extensive tract
of woodland, well kept, and laid out in the best taste, with a
sort of Swiss summer-house on the banks of the Grand
Junction Canal, by which it is intersected. We need hardly
remind the reader that one of the favorites of our early play-
going days, " sweet Kitty Stephens," of musical memory,
afterwards became the Countess of Essex. Grove Park,
adjoining, is the residence of the Earl of Clarendon.

Seven miles from Watford is St. Albans, twenty-one miles
from town, and so venerable that, even in the time of the
Romans, it was an ancient city. The ground about here is
full of historical recollections. It was here that, in 1066,
Fritheric, abbot of St. Alban's, compelled the Norman Con-
queror to concede some important privileges. Here, in 1455,
was fought the famous battle in which the Duke of York
defeated Henry VI., and took him prisoner; and here, six
years afterwards, the Yorkists, under the king-making Earl of
Warwick, were defeated by the Lancastrians under Queen
Margaret, and the king liberated. But, regardless of other
attractions, we stroll first to the old Abbey, which, even in its
present decadence, exhibits conspicuous signs of its former
power and grandeur. The Abbey of St. Alban's is now 600

SAIKT ALBAN'S. 63

feet long, 174 feet wide, and 65 feet high. The elevation of
the great tower is 1 74 feet. Oft'a the Great, King of Mercia,
was its founder in 795, and dedicated it to Alban, a native of
Verulam, who had been a soldier at Rome, suffered martyr-
dom for his faith, and, being the first Briton who had been
put to death for his religious opinions, was called " England's
first martyr." From this period the ancient Verulam of the
Romans was thence called St. Alban's. For more than seven
centuries the Abbey flourished in great splendour ; its build-
ings, erected from time to time, causing it to resemble a town
rather than a religious house. The kings of the twelfth and
thirteenth centuiies were frequently entertained in its magnifi-
cent apartments, and its annual revenue was estimated at
£2,500 — an enormous sum in the days when a fat oxen Avas
purchaseable for a few shillings. This immense establishment
has now dwindled to a few scattered walls, a gatehouse, and
the present parochial church, which, at the destruction of
convents, was purchased by the corporation. In consequence
of some large masses of the Abbey battlements falling in upon
the roof, in 1832, the whole fabric was put under repair, at an
outlay of nearly £20,000, and it now presents an edifice equal
in magnitude as well as decoration to some of our largest
cathedrals. Here may be seen the monuments of many
illustrious men, particularly those to St. Alban himself, Sir
John Mandeville, one of our earliest travellers, who well
earned the privilege of seeing " strange things," and the
" good Duke Humphrey" of Gloucester, brother of Henry V.,
whose hospitality still lingers in the memory of those who
have no other dinner invjtation. But there is yet another
shrine, to which a pilgrimage must be made. The great Lord
Chancellor Bacon — whose residence was Gorhambury House,
now the seat of the Earls of Verulam — lies buried in the
ancient church of St. Michael's, under a marble tomb, where
his effigy in stone records his world-wide fame, with the
simple inscription of " Franciscus Bacon." The ruins of
Sopwell Nunnery, where Iving Henry VHL and Anna Boleyu

54 abbot's ianglet.

used to come and have a quiet iete-d-tete to themselves, may
still be seen on the south bank of the Verulam river. If the
excursionist wishes to diversify his route home, we recom-
mend to him a stroll of about five miles to Kin^s Langley,
where there is a station at which he can rejoin the railway.
King's Langley was a part of the royal demesne, and there
was anciently here a royal house, where Edmund de Langley,
fifth son of Edward HI., was bom. This same prince lies in
the old Norman Church on the hill, by the river side ; and
here, also, Eichard 11. was for a short time interred. Abbot's
Langley is chiefly remarkable as the birthplace of Nicholas
De Camera, better known as Nicholas Breakspeare, and who
becoming Pope, as Adrian IV., is the only Englishman that
ever assumed the Papal dignity. It is said, when a youth he
endeavoured to obtain admission into the monastery of St.
Alban's, but being rejected, on account of his incomplete
studies, he went to Paris and applied himself to dirinity. He
seems to have well remembered the place of his nativity, for,
when he attained the triple crown, he gave to the Abbot of
St. Alban's a grant of precedence over all others. Should our
companion like a ramble with his rod and line, he will
probably go on to the Boxmoor Station, two miles from Hemel
Hempstead, with its agreeable environs. Boxmoor can only
boast of a few houses, but the words " Fishery Inn," on a
plain but rural wayside hostel, will remind the disciple of
Izaak Walton that he is close upon Twowaters — the junction
of the Bulboum and the Gade, a famous Hertfordshire
locality for fly-fishing. Here he can await the arrival of the
last train from Birmingham, and, having profited by the
exercise of the "gentle craft," return in time to have the
produce of his piscatorial skill prepared for supper, or to
enjoy the more substantial chop, with its appendages, at one
of the west-end refectories.

'^^'^'if^^^^-s^ii^^''''^^^^^

EXCURSION I.

TO RICHMOND BY RAILWAY (Station WATERLOO ROAD) OR
STEAMBOAT — VAUXHALL —WANDSWORTH — PUTNEY— WIM-
BLEDOX— BARNES— BARN ELMS— MORTLAKE— KEW GARDENS
—RICffMOND— RICHMOND HILL AND PARK— PETERSHAM—
TWTCKENHAM— T^VICKENHAM AIT— TEDDINGTON— HAMPTON
COURT— THE PALACE.— BUSHEY PARK— THE STATE APART-
JtENTS— THE PICTURE GALLERIES— THE PRIVATE GARDENS
—THE WILDERNESS — THE MAZE — THE \TNE — ARRANGE-
MENTS OF ADMISSION— KINGSTON-SURBITON— THE RETURN
BY THE SOUTH-WESTERN RAILWAY.

EiCHJiONB is now rendered so promptly accessible by railway,
that few at all familiar with the scenery of the Thames
above bridge will prefer to the rapid transit of the train the
slower progress of the steamboat. As we intend, however, to
give an ample account of those places that, contiguous to the
railway, are yet observable on the south bank of the river, our
description will serve the same, whether the trip be made by
land or water. Starting from the terminus of the South-
western Railway, Waterloo Road, we speedily cross the open
tract of garden ground kno^\^l as Battersea fields, where, in
1604, was grown the first asparagus known in England.
Clapham old church, with the rising terraces of villas and
trees seen beyond, next engages our attention to the left. In
the opposite direction is Battersea Church, containing a monu-
ment, by Roubiliac, to Henry St. John Viscount Bolingbroke,
who was bom here; and another to one Sir Edward "Winter,
an East India Captain in the reign of Chai"les II., who, among
other extraordinary feats duly recorded, overthrew sixty
mounted Hindoos single-handed. Wandsworth, on the banks
of the " crystal Wandle," which here flows into the Thames,
has several oil, corn, and other mills worked by the stream.

58 PUTNEY.

Nameroos elegant villas hare been erected in the neigh-
bourhood within the last few years. The church was rebuilt
in 1780, and the tower in 1841; one of Henry the Fifth's
oflScers, who served at Agincourt, is buried here. In addition
to several free-schools, maintained by charitable bequests, there
are various places of worship free for Nonconformists, and
here assembled, in 1570, the first congregation of Presbyters.
Putney was even famous for its fisheries in the time of the
Normans, but steamboat traffic has long since destroyed its
reputation. It has been the birthplace of Cromwell, the
blacksmith's son and friend of Wolsey ; and Gibbon, the
historian. The old church, though restored in 1836, was
built in the latter part of the fifteenth century, and exhibits
several interesting brasses and tombs. At the Bowling-Green
House died the celebrated William Pitt, in 1806. Here is the
" College of Civil Engineers," founded a few years back, to
impart that mechanical and mathematical knowledge so
essential in these days of steam enterprise. Putney is still
the famous rendezvous of those interested in aquatic sports,
and rowing matches are frequent from this point. The old
clumsy bridge, built in 1729, cost £24,000, and is yet a
profitable investment. Wimbledon and its Common, that even
thirteen hundred years ago was pronounced the most ancient
of English parishes, is the scene of one of Caesar's encamp-
ments, and may be reached from Putney through Roehampton.
Wimbledon Park, belonging to Earl Spencer, is replete with
pretty detached spots of landscape beauty, and affords a
choice sylvan ramble to the eastern portion of Richmond
Park. On the southern banks of the river, linked by an
elegant terrace of modem buildings, called the Castelnau
Villas, with the Suspension Bridge at Hammersmith, is
Barnes. In the churchyard is a monumental tablet to Edward
Rose, a citizen of London, who, dying in 1653, left £20 to the
parish poor, on condition that roses should be planted on his
grave and annually preserved. At Bam Elms, Sir Francis
Walsingham, who died here in 1590, frequently entertained

WEST SHEEN. 59

Queen Elizabeth. Tonson, the bookseller, and Cowley, the
poet, also made this their residence, and memorials of both
are preserved. Mortlake, a mile further, and two miles to the
east of Eichmond, has an ancient church, founded in the 14th,
and rebuilt in the 16th century. Dr. John Dee, the astrologer,
and Partridge, a quondam shoemaker and prophetic almanack
concocter, both lie in the churchyard. We now discern the
woody glades which surround Richmond, the scene of 90
many historical events, and the haunt of pleasant pic-nic
parties from time immemorial. At West Sheen, to the left of
Mortlake, and utterly destroyed in 1769 to form a lawn in
Richmond Park, there was formerly a Carthusian Monastery,
founded by Henry V., in 1414, and rendered memorable as
the place of refuge for Perkin Warbeck, and the burial place
of James IV., of Scotland, after the battle of Plodden. An
obsenatory now occupies the site. The lofty structure seen
across the trees to the right is the tower of the Chinese
Pagoda in Kew Gardens, rising 163 feet above the surround-
ing foliage, and forming a conspicuous object for many miles
round. The collection of rare exotics in these grotmds,
unequalled in Europe, is open to public inspection daily,
except Sundays, from twelve till dusk, and will equally repay
the visit of the mere curious sight-seeker and the more pro-
found botanist. George III. frequently resided here, and
expended large sums at various times in the erection of a
palace, which George IV. pulled down in 1828; and, in its
place, substituted a more commodious building, afterwards
given by William IV. to the Duke of Cumberland, now Iving
of Hanover. Gainsborough and ZofFany, two of our most
celebrated artists in two very distinct styles, both lie in Kew
churchyard; the church itself, built in 1714, and afterwards
much enlarged, presents nothing remarkable. At a house on
Kew Green lived Sir Peter Lely.

Richmond, where either train or steamboat will enable us
to stop, is just the pleasant point for an excursionist to reach
bent upon exercise and enjoyment. The walks by the margin

60 BICUMONS.

of the river, the leafy luxuriance of the park, the famed view
from the hill, and the varied scenery of its environs, through
which wind the prettiest green lanes imaginable, all tend to
make this " region of loveliness" attractive beyond the day.
Mouarchs and monks had a wonderful knack long ago of
discovering the prettiest places for a summer retreat round
London, and, accordingly, we find it was a royal residence at
a very early period. At Richmond Green, where the only
remains of the " auncient« Palace of Sheen" is to be found, in
a gateway at the north-east angle. Kings Edward I. and IL
lived, and the third King Edward died — broken-hearted, it is
said, for the loss of his heroic son, " The Black Prince."
Here, too, died Anne, Richard the Second's Queen, who first
introduced the side-saddle for the benefit of succeeding female
equestrians. In 1492 Henry VH. gave a grand tournament,
and here, in 1509, he died. Queen Elizabeth also breathed
her last in this regal abode, which, after minor changes
connected with royalty, was finally demolished by George HI.
in 1769. Passing through the town, which contains on its
outskirts several elegant villas of the nobility, we proceed up
the hill to the Park, which embraces an area of about 2,300
acres, and is nearly nine miles in circumference. It was
enclosed by Charles I. with a brick wall, and this became one
of the articles of his impeachment. An attempted exclusion
of the pubhc, in the reign of George HI,, caused a spirited
resistance from a brewer named Lewis, who, by an action at
law, established the right of footway, and since then no
further encroachment upon the privileges of the public has
been essayed. The umbrageous solitudes of this fine park,
and the comprehensive and beautiful views from its summit,
extending over the fertile vaUey of the Thames, and even
including the distant turrets of Windsor Castle, have long
been the theme of eulogy in book and ballad. At sunset,
when the far-off masses of foliage are sobered down by
twilight, and the river, catching the last beams of the sinking
orb, gleams through the leafy landscape like a fairy lake, in

BICHHOND. 61

which every ripple yields a golden sparkle, the scene is truly
enchanting. In Richmond Church, a neat structure, partly
ancient and partly modem, there are several interesting
memorials of the departed great. The first that arrests atten-
tion is a marble tablet on the wall, with a medallion head
sculptured on it, beneath which is the following inscription : —
"Edmund Kean — died May, 1833, aged 46 — a memorial
erected by his son Charles John Kean, 1839." Here, too, is
the grave of the poet James Thomson, with the Earl of
Buchan's copper tablet, the inscription on which time has
almost made illegible. He was buried without the wall, but
the church having been enlarged to make room for the organ,
the wall now passes right across his coffin, cutting the body,
as it were, in twain. Near the communion table lies Mary
Ann Yates, a celebrated tragic actress and once the Mrs.
Siddons of her day, but now her very name appears forgotten.
In a whimsical epitaph to a Welsh lawyer, one Eobert Lewes,
it is recorded to his honour, that " he was such a great lover
of peace and quietness, that when a contention began in his
body between Life and Death he immediately gave up the
ghost to end the dispute." Among the rest may be mentioned,
tombs to the memory of Joseph Taylor, the original "Hamlet ;"
Dr. Moore, the author, and father of the Corunna-renowned
General, Sir John Moore; Gilbert Wakefield, the critic;
Viscount Fitzwilliam, who founded the Museum at Cam-
bridge; and Edward Gibson, an artist of repute, Richmond
has a theatre, first opened, in 1719, by the facetious Will
Penkethman, and carried on for some time by Cibber; it was
the scene of many of Kean's triumphs in the mimic art, but
latterly it has been badly managed and worse frequented.
Near it is " Rosedale House," where Thomson lived and died
(August 22nd, 1748), and having lately become the residence
of the Earl of Shaftesbury, it is known as " Thomson's Villa."
Many relics of the poet, and some manuscript portions of
" The Seasons," in his own handwriting, are here carefully
preserved. Richmond Bridge was biiilt in 1777.

62 TWICKENHAM.

Petersham, reached by a pleasant rural lane leading from
the hiD, is delightfully situated in the valley beneath, and has
some fine springs of water, which are duly taken advantage of
by a Hydropathic establishment recently formed. Ham House
was once a royal domain, where James I., Charles L, Charles
II., and James IL, the latter by compulsion, occauionally
resided. About a mile west from Richmond is Twickenham,
near which is Twickenham Ait, or Eel-Pie-Island, consecrated
from time immemorial to the votaries of that esteemed delicacy.
Pope's Villa, now demolished and having a number of villas
on its site, has long associated the poet's name with the placa
In the village church may be seen liis tomb, with a Latin
inscription written by his friend Warburton, Bishop of Glou-
cester, and a more characteristic one beneath, written by
the bard himself. The once celebrated actress, " Kitty Clive,"
is also buried in this sequestered church; she died in 1785,
aged 75. The almshouses of the Carpenters' Company occupy
a prominent situation beyond. Nearly a mile further is
Strawberry Hill, where the celebrated Horace Walpole
collected the famous assortment of valuables and curiosities,
which, under the direction of the late Earl of Waldegrave,
were consigned to the hammer of George Robins, and dis-
persed among those private individuals who were wealthy
enough to become possessed of the varied contents of this
gothic hall.

Teddington, two miles further, is well known to the angling
fraternity, and here the first "lock" is encountered in the
upward progress along the Thames. It is worth while to turn
aside from the road, and have a look at the old church, which,
though recently modernised, presents in its south aisle a
specimen of architectural stability of 800 years back. " Peg
Woffington," the clever actress and beautiful woman, whose
history is of itself a romance, was here buried in 1720, and
Hi&re are other monuments of remunerative interest and
antiquity.

Hampton Court, to which another two miles will bring us,

HAMPTON CODET. 63

requires a volume exclusively devoted to its attractions to
render them due justice, but in default of a professed '■^ Guide"
our account — ^though necessarily compressed — will be found
sufScient to prevent any of its "Lions" being overlooked from
a want of their being enumerated. The situation of Hampton
Court, which stands on the north bank of the Thames, about
twelve miles from London, is so happily described by Pope,
that we caimot resist quoting the favorite passage: —

" Close by those meads for ever crowned with flowers.
Where Thames with pride survey's his lising towers,
There stands a structure of majestic ftame.
Which from the neighbouring Hampton takes its name ;
Here Britain's statesmen oft the fall foredoom
Of foreign tyrants and of nymphs at home ;
Here thou great Anna, whom tliree realms obey.
Dost sometimes coimsel take, and sometimes— tea."

In summing up the points of its early history, we may briefly
state that in the thirteenth century the manor of Hampden
was vested in the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. Cardinal
Wolsey, its illustrious foimder, was the last of the enlightened
churchmen of old, whose munificence patronised that style of
building; which, originating with the ecclesiastics, seemed to
end in his fall. He is supposed to have furnished the designs,
and having been commenced in 1515, the building, when
finished, was in so magnificent a style, that it created great
envy at court. The banquets and masques, so prevalent in
the age of Henry VHI,, were nowhere more magnificently
ordered than here; and however vast the establishment of
the Cardinal, it could not have been more than sufiicient
icx the accommodation of his train of guests. Numerous
sovereigns since that time made it their temporary abode,
and the last who resided here were George H. and his Queen,
since which period various members of the com-t have
occupied the apartments, the crown reserving the right of
resuming possession. At present about 700 of decayed
gentlemen and gentlewomen, with their servants, occupy

64 HAMPTON COTJHT.

olSSces connected with the establishment, to which they are
recommended by the Lord Chamberlain. The Lion gate,
which fronts the entrance to Bushey Park, an appurtenance
granted to Queen Adelaide, is the chief avenue; and, con-
tinuing through the Wilderness, by a path overshadow^ed
vfith lofty trees, we find ourselves by the side of the palace,
in firont of which extends a long walk ornamented with
parterres, an exotic shrubbery, and a spacious fountain in the
centre. The grand east front extends 330 feet, and the grand
south front 328 feet, from the designs of Sir Christopher
Wren. The grand staircase and the guard chamber lead to
the picture galleries, to which so many cheap catologues
furnish descriptive guides, that our enumeration of their
magnificent contents is unnecessary. Suflice it to say the
paintings are about 1,000 in number. Retracing our steps to
the middle court, we may observe, under the archway, the
flight of steps leading to Wolsey's HaU. It is 106 feet long,
40 feet wide, and illuminated by thirteen windows, each
fifteen feet from the ground. On one of the panes of the bay
window at the end, extending nearly to the floor, the young
Earl of Surrey wTote his lines to the fair Geraldine. On each
side the walls are hung with tapestry of the most costly
material and rarest workmanship, said to have formed a
portion of the gifts interchanged between Henry and Francis,
at the celebrated " Field of the Cloth of Gold." In the centre
of the dais there is a doorway leading to the withdrawal
room. The beautiful gardens in front of the palace have been
repeatedly the admiration of all ■I'isitors. They were laid out
by William III., in the Dutch style, with canal and water-
coiirses, and the compass and shears were industriously
employed in making birds, beasts, and reptiles, out of yew,
holly, and privet. The private gardens extend from the sides
of the palace to the banks of the river, and contain, besides
some remarkably fine orange trees, many of them in full
bearing, a fine oak nearly 40 feet in circumference, and an
ancient elm called " Eiing Charles's swing." The large space

HAMPTON COCBT. 65

of ground on the opposite side of the palace is called " The
Wilderness" and was planted with shrubs by order of William
and Mary. Most of the walks are completely overshadowed,
and on a hot summer day a stroll through these umbrageous
paths is exceedingly inviting. In this portion of the grounds
is situated the Maze, so constructed that all the paths
apparently leading to the centre turn oif to a more distant
part, and involve the inquisitive adventurer in constant per-
plexity. Though we are not quite sure that the revelation
does not spoil the chief sport, the secret of success in thread-
ing this miniature labyrinth is, that after the first turning to
the left the right hand should be kept towards the fence the
whole of the remaining way. The greatest curiosity, however,
is perhaps the famous Vine, which, sheltered and nurtured in
a hot-house, is 110 feet long, and, at three feet from the root,
is 27 inches in circumference. It bears from two to three
thousand bunches of the black Hamburg grape in the season.
We may now mention the arrangements made for the recep-
tion of visitors.

The State Apartments, Pablic Gardens, and Picture Gal-
leries are open daily (Fridays excepted), throughout the year,
from 10 till dusk ; and on Sundays after 2 p.m. The Public
Gardens have generally a military band in attendance, and a
small fee is expected by the gardener for exhibiting the
orangery and the vine.

We hence recommend the excursionist to proceed across
Kingston Bridge, erected in 1827, to Kingston, a distance of
not much more than two miles, and take a train homeward
by the South- Western Kailway. Kingston Church was the
scene of the coronation of many of our Saxon kings, who
here held their court, and the stone on which the ceremony
took place is still preserved near the Courts of Assize. A
striking illustration of the creative powers of a railroad is
manifested by the rise of a new town by the station, called
Surbiton, or lOngston-on-Eailway. Although this was, only
a few years back, a mere piece of waete ground, it is now a

66 KIHG8TON.

populous and thriving -settlement, with a fashionable assem-
blage of shops continued along one wide street, from the
Railway Hotel to a considerable distance down the Eongston-
road. Near this spot took place the last struggle of the
Royalists in favor of Charles the First, who was then a
prisoner in Carisbrooke Castle ; but, with that fatality which
seemed to attend all their efforts, the cavaliers were repulsed
with great slaughter, Lord Francis Villiers slain, and the
Earl of Holland captured, with others of the nobility. Select-
ing an easy seat in the compartment of a comfortable carriage,
we shall be now borne back in an hour to the terminus at
Waterloo-road, whence we started, and this rapid progression,
ailer our agreeable sauntering through the meadows and bye-
paths, will, to our thinking and experience, be a very pleasant
mode of terminating a very pleasant pUgrimage, during
which we trust you have found in us a very communicative
companion.

EXCURSION 11.

SOUTH-WESTERN RAIIiTVAY — THAMES DITTON -
ESHER— CLAREMONT — WALTOX-ON-THAMES— WEYBEIDGE—
BYFLEET— ST. GEORGE'S HILL— COBHAM—OCKHAM— WOKING
—NEWARK PRIORY — CHERTSEY— THE OLD MONASTERY—
COWLEY — SAINT ANNE'S HILL — LALEHAM — STAINES —
SHEPPERTON.

The South- Western Bailway is a very eligible medium for
excursionists. There is scarcely a station from which the
rambler can go forth, and fail to find something in the way of
the beautiful and the antique. Beyond Kingston, the road to
which embraces the chief places described in the previous
excursion, there is a delightful range of country, full of
inexhaustible attractions. Thames Ditton, and the Moulseys,
East and West, are capital spots for a quiet day's fishing, and,
as such, are much frequented in the season ; the former is as
pleasantly situated by the margin of the river as poet or
painter could desire, and the latter are thus named from their
position at the junction of the Mole with the Thames. There
is a wooden bridge connecting the village with Hampton, and
on Moulsey Hurst — once the arena for combats pugilistic — the
Hampton races now take place. A mile from the Claremont
station is Esher, dwindled into comparative insignificance
compared with the time when Cardinal Wolsey retreated
here, to the palace of the Bishops of Winchester, having, after
his disgrace, been compelled by the king to retire from the court.
This stately structure, situated on the banks of the Mole, here
widening to a goodly stream, was built by "William Wainflete,
who was consecrated Bishop of Winchester in 1447, and was
probably by him annexed to that see. A picturesque well by
the roadside, called " Wolsey's Well," and a castellated turret,
known as "The Water- Gate House," are the only visible
t 2

68 CltABEMOKT.

indications of his former residence in this magnificent abode.
At Sandon Farm, near the station, may be traced the ruins of
an old priory, founded in the reign of Henry II. Esher
Church is a small but neat structure, with a curious bit of
antiquity in the belfry, which contains a bell said to have
been brought hither from St. Domingo by Sir Francis Drake.
The walks in the vicinity are delicionsly pastoral. To the
east of Esher is Claremont, where the Princess Charlotte lived
and died, and where her Majesty has frequently retreated of
late from the pomp and pageantry of the court. Its former
history is sufficiently curious to be given. Sir John Vanbrugh,
the author-architect, first built a house here for himself, but,
with a strange perversity of taste, it was erected in the lower
grounds, where there was no possibility of a prospect. Sir
John soon got tired of his new dwelling, and gladly parted
with it to Thomas Holies Pelham, Earl of Clare, who
made some extensive and judicious alterations. A purchase
of 2,000 extra acres of ground was skilfully employed in the
formation of a park, on a mount in which was raised a
castellated building that he entitled Clare-mount, and this
appellation it has since borne. The next purchaser was Lord
Clive, the conqueror of India, and under his direction the
famous " Capability Browne " — who gained this odd addition
to his patronymic from a peculiar talent he had of turning
grounds that had any " capability" to the best advantage —
demolished the old structure, and raised another, at a cost of
£100,000. After Lord Clive's decease, Claremont passed
successively into the possession of Viscount Galway, the Earl
of Tyrconnel, and Charles Kose Ellis Esq., from whom it was
purchased by government, in 1816, at a cost of £69,000, to
form the country residence of Prince Leopold, now King of
the Belgians. The mansion has latterly become, by one of
those strange caprices of destiny that beset crowned beads,
the refuge of Louis Phillippe and the exiled Royal Family of
France, who have lived here, in comparative seclusion, since
the memorable revolution of Februarv, 1848.

WAI.TOX. 69

Crossing Walton Heath, the course of the line brings ns in
the vicinity of Oatlands, the seat of the late Duke of York,
and afterwards of Lord Francis Egerton. App's Court,
adjacent, was another of Wolsey's residences ; the house he
inhabited has long since disappeared, but a dove-cote, and the
wall of his garden, with some trees planted by himself, still
remain to mark the spot where he loved to meditate over his
chequered fortunes. Walton is decidedly one of those stations
where it is worth while to alight and turn towards the village,
on the speculation of finding a pleasant occupation for a spare
half-hour. The old church, dedicated to St. Mary, contains
some attractive monuments of considerable antiquity, and a
" scold's bridle" is shown, which was used to curb those
gossips' tongues that, unlike the " course of true love," never
did " run smooth." In the chancel is a monument to John
Selwyn, a keeper of Oatlands, who is represented on a stag's
back, plunging his sword into the animal's throat. This is
said to have been done in the presence of Queen Elizabeth, as
he sprang from the back of the horse, which he was riding
at full speed, on to that of the stag. William Lilly, the
astrologer, who lived at Hersham, close by, is also interred
here. The style of architecture of this ancient edifice is
manifestly belonging to a very remote period. The old bridge
that spans the Thames was erected in 1687. Here, at a place
called " Coway," Cassar is said to have attempted crossing the
river, and some wooden stakes, shod with iron and 16 feet
long, have been dug up in the neighbourhood, and cited as a
proof of the successful opposition made by the ancient Britons,
under Cassivelaunus, to repel the eftbrts of the Romans.

Weyhridge is another choice spot to alight, fertile in quiet
nooks for angling, and abounding in picturesque scenery.
Close to the station is " The Hand and Spear" Tavern, with a
sort of half-gotliic, half-Swiss style about it, and some exten-
sive grounds at the back, fitted up with every facility of
diversion to wile away a summer's afternoon. The village is
close to it, but presents nothing remarkable, not even except-

70 BTFLEET.

ing the chnrch, which, though old, has only a few brasses of
little interest, and a sculpture, by Chantrey, to the Duchess of
York, representing the deceased engaged in prayer. There is
a monument besides to perpetuate her worth, erected on the
green, in the shape of a column. The Basingstoke Canal and
the Eiver Wey form their junction at this point with the
Thames, and, as they heighten the charms of the landscape,
also present great attractions to the lovers of fishing, who are
constantly to be seen testing their skill along the margin.
Those expert at pedestrianizing will have a rare treat if they
cross the Hne from Weybridge Station and proceed to Byfleet,
two miles onward. It is a primitive looking village, with an
old-fashioned church, constructed from the simple materials
of rough stones and flint. The ^aews are delightful as yon
proceed, and the country round exhibits the highest state of
agricultural cultivation. Making direct for St. George's Hill,
there is a splendid prospect from the summit, encompassing
"Windsor, Chertsey, Hampton, and the glistening rivers that
sparkle through the landscape nearer. Relucta'-tly quitting
tliis elevated region — and it requires a desperate degree of
resolution — we descend into the village of Cobham, on the
other side thereof, having a pleasant location on the Mole,
and an abundant supply from its waters of carp, pike, and
trout, most plentifully found in that portion of the stream
which flows through the park. Hence we may stroll to
Ockham, and have a look at the old church, built in 1290,
and Ockham Park, the seat of Earl Lovelace, who, himself a
descendant from the metaphysician Locke, has ftirther honor
in his marriage with Ada, the daughter of Byron. Still
onward, and Wisley and Piprford will be found worthy a
visit, and Woking, with its ancient mansion of Sutton Place,
built by Sir Richard Weston, in 1530, and oft-times visited
by Queen Elizabeth. The church is venerable, and the
embattled tower gives it a striking appearance. Near here,
on a spot formerly called " Aldeburj'," may be seen the ruins
of Newark Priory, founded in the time of Richard Coeur de

CHERTSET. 71

Lion. The portion that remains was evidently the old
church. Leaving the excursionist to choose whether he shall
hence go on to Guildford or Woking — either way about three
miles— we return to Weybridge, and take our rambler with
OS on another pleasant pilgrimage of three miles, in the
opposite direction, to Chertsey.

Chertsey — the very name rings in the ear like a sound from
the far-off past — is as old as the days of the ancient Britons,
and probably was one of their principal places. Soon after
the conversion of the Saxons from Paganism, in 666, a
Benedictine Monastery was founded here by Frithwold, a
petty prince of Surrey, and by him richly endowed. In the
original charter it is written, " I beseech those whose names
are annexed to subscribe themselves witnesses that I, Frith-
wald, who am the giver, together with the Abbot Erkenwald,
on account of my ignorance of letters, have expressed with the
sign of the Holy Cross." It is from this pretty evident that
princes in those days had somewhat of Jack Cade's antipathy
to those who could "read, write, and cast accompt," and
therefore they also " made their mark, like a simple, plain-
dealing, honest man." The Danes, who were the general
snappers-up of unconsidered trifles, pillaged the abbey in
1009, killed the abbot and monks, and laid the whole build-
ing desolate ; but being afterwards rebuilt by Egbert, King of
Kent, it became more magnificently embellished than ever,
and was one of the most important monasteries in the
kingdom. Henry VI. was buried here, under a sumptuous
mausoleum, but the body was exhumed in 1504, by Henry
Vn., and conveyed with great pomp first to Windsor, and
afterwards to Westminster Abbey. It is useless to look now
for any vestige of its former grandeur; all that remains is a
part of its wall, forming the boundary of an orchard, and part
of an archway is still visible on the north side of the town.
In the centre of the town is the church, rebuilt in 1808, but
having a portion of the old chancel and tower remaining.
Even 60 late as the year 1814, and occasionally since, the

%^ CUEKTSET.

curfew has been tolled here, from IVIichaelmas to Lady Day,
the day of the month being indicated during the time of
ringing. A handsome stone bridge of seven arches was
erected, in 1786, across the Thames, connecting the county of
Surrey with Middlesex. At a house in Guildford Street,
formerly distinguished as the Porch House, lived Abraham
Cowley, the poet, who has perpetuated, in prose and verse,
his love for this seclusion in a hundred quaint prettinesses.
Beneath the window of the room in which he died (July 28th,
1667) is a tablet thus appealing to the sympathies of the
passers-by: — "Here the last accents flowed from Cowley's
tongue." A pretty summer house that he built, and a seat
under a sycamore tree, both mentioned in his poems, were
existing till the middle of the last century. After the excur-
sionist has refreshed his physical energies at one of the many
excellent inns that here abound, by all means let him ascend
St Anne's Hill, about a mile out of the town, and he shall
find himself, at the summit, elevated some 250 feet above the
ocean level, with a glorious panorama round about him of the
finest parts of the river between Richmond and Windsor.
There is a spring at the top, that summer's heat and winter's
cold alike prove unable to dry up or freeze. The mansion on
the southern slope of the hill was once the residence of
Charles James Fox, the statesman, to whom a cenotaph has
been erected in the church. From Chertsey he can now pro-
ceed to the Woking Station, an agreeable walk of five miles,
and so return by railway, or cross the bridge, and go through
Lakham on to Staines, a distance of four miles : thence one of
the coaches that still ply on that comparatively deserted
road win bring him back to town.

The excursion we have indicated, with judicious manage-
ment of stoppages, need not occupy more than a day, but
should the finny fraternity of the streams tempt an angler to
loiter on his path, it will be found an excellent plan to stop at
Chertsey for the night, and try his chance among the famous
jack and perch of Shepperton in the morning.

EXCURSION ni.

CAMBERTVEIiIi— PECKHAJr RYE— NUKHEAD CEMETERY—
DULWICH— DULWICH COLLEGE — PENGE COMMON— SYDEN-
HAM—ANERLEY—BEULAH SPA— NORWOOD— NORWOOD CEME-
TERY — STREATHAM — BRIXTON — STOCKWELL— THE STOCK-
WELL GHOST— CLAPHAM—CLAPHAM COMMON— RETURN BY
OMNIBUS.

Our next trip out of town into Surrey, though less extensive,
will not be found less interesting. Having got a ticket of
admission to the Dulwich Gallery,* take an omnibus to Cam-
berwell Green, and be put down at the " Father Redcap," a
hostel that in the last century stood far away in the fields,
without a habitation within ken. Cross the Green and turn
down Grove Lane to the right, a thoroughfare at the back of
Camberwell Grove, now occupied by a handsome range of
modem houses, commanding a retrospective view over the
smoke-enshrouded buildings of the southern suburbs. It was
here that tradition alleges BarnweU killed his uncle, but the
crime of the city apprentice, immortalised by Lillo, has not
even had the assistance of a ghost to indicate the precise spot
of the murder. At the end of this lane there is a steep
declivity, where the road winds round to the valley beneath,
and the prospect that here comes with startling suddenness on
the eye of the pedestrian is a pleasant surprise after the
monotonous lines of houses which have hitherto been our

• These tickets are gratis, and easily obtainable of the chief Printsellers,
being merely rendered necessary to ensure the respectability of the visitors,
though it is probable before long tliat even this slight condition will be
dispensed with. Ackerman, Strand, and Colnaghi, Pall Mall, will both
supply them. The gallery is open every week day, except Friday, from
10 till 5 in the summer months, and 11 till 3 during the winter.

74 PECKHAM.

boundary right and left. You are in an instant transported,
as if by magic, from the confines of the town to the open
country, and though a few cottages have, within the last year
or two, been built at the foot of the hill, there is yet enough
rurality about it to make it grateful to the vision of one
satiated with street scenes and street bustle. The vale of
Peckham lies in the foreground, with beyond an ample tract
of pasture ground, veined with hedgerows, and an undulating
country at the back, wherein ivied cottages and clustering
elms knot themselves into picturesque groups afar oif. The
road winding to the left brings us to Goose Green, a favourite
spot for academies, and a quarter of a mile further is Peckham
Rye, which at first view appears to consist of a score of Uttle
shops and stuccoed dwellings, a tavern or two, a large pond,
and ducks and dogs innumerable. Peckham, though recently
much enlarged by terraces and other symptoms of metro-
politan extension, was not long ago as quietly rural as if four
hundred miles, instead of four, had been its distance from
town. Here are tea-gardens — so called, of course, because tea
is never called for within them — that, garnished with flowers
and seats amid the shrubberies, offer no despicable attractions
to the city artisan, who can thus within omnibus range
breathe a fresher atmosphere, and have some wholesome
notion of real country air. Hardly a mile from the Eye,
reached by the road exactly opposite to that by which we
came, is Nunhead Cemetery, occupying the slope of a hill
which is crowned upon the top by a neat chapel for perform-
ing the funereal rites of the Established Church. Adjoining is
a plainer edifice for the use of Dissenters. The grounds are
well disposed, though they cannot be said to rival the
cemeteries of Kensal Green and Norwood. From the
eminence adjoining there is a good prospect of London, and
the pathway to Forest Hill, and round, under the South-
Eastern Eailway, to New Cross and Deptford, is not to be
despised by those whom time will not permit to enjoy a more
excorsiTe ramble.

DULWICH. 76

From Peckham we can strike across the hills, where one of
the old Semaphores, or wooden telegraphs, still remains — a
disused link of telegraphic communication between the
Admiralty and Portsmouth — and get to Dulwich through the
meadows. Just past the neat village, plentifully besprinkled
with the villas of metropolitan merchants, is Dulwich College,
founded, in 1619, by Edward AUeyne, the actor, who, as one
of Shakspere's contemporaiies, was a popular representative
of most of the characters in his plays. It is a building of the
Elizabethan school, and was erected from the designs of
Inigo Jones. In 1811 a new wing was added for the recep-
tion of the pictures bequeathed by Sir Francis Bourgeois, and
these include some of the finest specimens extant of the works
of the old Flemish and Spanish masters. Those by Cuyp,
Kembrandt, and Murillo are highly estimated, and there are
several by our own Sir Joshua Reynolds. An inspection of
the pictorial treasures herein contained will prove a desirable
and gratifying hour's occupation. A chapel, library, and
school, for gratuitous instruction, are attached, and the warden
must be the same name as the founder, a condition which has
occasionally involved some perplexity in its fulfilment. The
environs are replete with pastoral beauty, and an immense
quantity of hay is obtained from this district. Pursuing the
road before us, and skirting the borders of some fine planta-
tions— well known to pic-nic parties from town — we pass
Penge Common, where the Watermen's Almshouses form a
conspicuous object in their isolated position. They were
erected, by subscription, for aged watermen and lightermen,
in 1840. Nothing can be more charmingly sylvan, or less
suggestive of the approximate city, than the walk across the
hill to Sydenham, which reveals a varied and expansive pros-
pect over Kent as we approach its precincts. The town lies
in the hollow, and has a number of opulent residents, whose
elegant mansions contribute to diversify the scene. On the
common has recently been built a handsome church, and
along by the railway several stately villas have been called int©

■f6 JCOEWOOD.

being by the increased facilities of transit thus afforded, and the
acknowledged salubrity of the air. The Anerley Gardens, a
short distance from the station, are prettily disposed, with
every imaginable device to make a visitor prolong his stay.
The old Croydon Canal runs at the end of the grounds, and
is kept well stocked with fish ; there are few resorts more
calculated than this to afford innocent recreation and healthy
enjoyment.

Unless the train is taken from Anerley we may take the
rambler on with us some two miles to the west across the
country to Norwood, a famous haunt for gipsies and pleasure
parties, though the former have become nearly extinct.
Beidah Spa is well known to summer excui'sionists as a
delightful destination for a day's jaunt, having archery and
music to increase the general hilarity, as well as verdant
lawns and flowery arbours, where the " creature comforts"
may be most delectably administered. The mineral spring,
discovered in 1827, may be tasted by those disposed to try its
beneficial effects ; it has a twang with it like what we should
fancy an infusion of Congreve matches would produce. The
scenery round Norwood is as wild and romantic as though
the sound of a Brixton omnibus never disturbed the tran-
quillity of the region, and botanists and entomologists can find
in the woods hereabout some choice specimens for their
cabinets. Norwood Cemetery, laid out in 1839, at a cost of
£80,000, occupies a very eligible position, on the sloping
devation of a hill near the roads leading to Tulse Hill and
Brixton. It encloses a space of nearly fifty acres, and the
brick wall which surrounds the Cemetery is above a mile and
a half in length. Two chapels, one Episcopal and the other for
Dissenters, are built in the gothic style at the highest point,
and hence there is a fine prospect before us, reaching from
the park immediately beneath, which formerly belonged to
Lord Chancellor Thurlow, to Heme Hill, and the towers of
Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's. Under the cloisters of
the chapel are the catacombs, estimated to contain 2,000

STOCKWELL. 77

coffins; thej are well ventilated and lighted, and perfectly
dry. On each side the grounds present a gentle undulation,
the fresh green turf being intersected by broad gravel walks,
and relieved at inten'als by darker clumps of shrubs, flowers,
and trees, among which the tombs and sculptured memorials
of those who rest beneath rise in gracefiil solemnity around.
There are many names upon the tablets familiar to fame,
and the aspect of the place altogether affords a cheerful
contrast to the gloomy regions appropriated to the same
purpose in our city burial grounds From here we can cross
over to Streatliam, a mile westward, and, looking in at the
church, see the tomb of Mr. Thrale, with Dr. Johnson's
epitaph. The ancient altar-tomb, known as " John of
Gaunt's," is of doubtful origin, but certainly not connected
with the individual whose name it bears. Streatham Spa,
once of some repute, lies to the east of the village, at a place
called Streatham Wells. We can hence take an omnibus
back through Brixton, or extend our walk through Clapham
New Park into the Clapham Road, The spacious area of
Clapham Common, comprising 200 acres, is a fine addition
to the parish, and is much frequented by cricketers.

Stockwell, to the right of the road from Brixton to Clapham,
was the scene of the stupid imposition of the Stockwell Ghost,
who, though not visible himself, endowed kitchen furniture
with wonderful vitality, made plates leap from th6 shelves,
and realizing a familiar nursery rhyme, literally caused the
dish to run away with the spoon. The whole impostur*—
and a more palpable one is not to be met with in the annals
of credulity — was the successful experiment of the shrewd
servant girl in the family where these wonders took place.
The house thus signalized stood upon the green, but it has
been much altered and repaired within the last few years. A
constant relay of omnibuses will be met with in either of the
main roads, and will afford a very economical conveyance
either to the city or west end.

Kennington Common, now being rapidly enclosed with

78 KENSINGTON.

buildings, was, before the erection of Horsemonger Lane Gaol,
the usual place of execution for criminals tried in this part of
the county. Near it, also, was a palace, occasionally inhabited
by the Royal Family even as late as the reign of Henry VTL
Camden says that in his time no traces of the building were
left, whence it seems probable that directly it ceased to be a
royal residence it was pulled down. The " Prince's Eoad" is
said to have been that by which the Black Prince came to
this palace from Lambeth, and a tavern in the road still bears
the sign of that renowned son of Edward III. Kennington is
besides distinguished in histoiy as the scene of the banquet or
marriage festival of a Danish nobleman, at which Hardicannte,
the son of Canute the Great, became the victim of his own
intemperance, or, according to others, was poisoned. In com-
memoration of his death the festival of " Hocktide" is said to
have been instituted. Kennington Church, dedicated to St.
Mark, was erected in 1 824, at an expense of nearly £30,000.
This neighbourhood is rather different now from what it was
in the reign of Edward HI., when bands of lawless ruffians
used to sally forth by hundreds at a time to rob the city,
and the Lord Mayor and Aldermen had to keep watch for
nights together, on the opposite banks of the Thames, to
oppose their incursions. The Surrey side of the water has
been lately wonderfully improved, both in the style of its
dwellings, and the character of its inhabitants. It now includes
by far the best portion of the city " respectables."

EXCURSION IV.

RAILWAY TO CROYDON— AKTIQUITIES—BEDDINGTON—
CARSHALTOK — WOODMANSTERNE — ADDISCOMBE — ADDING-
TON — EEIGATE — THE CASTLE— THE BARON'S CAVE— THE
PKIORY— DORKING— LEITH HILL — BOX HILL— MICKLEHAM
VALE — EPSOM — EWELL — CHEAM — SUTTON — MITCHAM —
STREATHAM— BRIXTON.

We now put the railway again into requisition. Go down
to the Terminus at Iiondon Bridge and take a ticket to
Croydon by the Croydon Eailway. The scenery along the
line is full of varied interest, and the excursionist will have a
good opportunity of seeing some of the richest portions of the
Bouthern outskirts on his route. Croydon is a fine old town,
with some attractive vestiges of antiquity about it, and is of
local importance as the place of election for East Surrey.
The name is derived from the Saxon derivatives Croie, chalk,
and dune or don, a bill, which pretty clearly describes its
geological position. On the left , as we stroll towards the High
Street, wiU be noticed " Whitgift's Almshouses," endowed by
Archbishop Whitgift in 1596, for a warden, chaplain, school-
master, and forty decayed householders of Lambeth and
Croydon, twenty of each sex. The church, with its ancient
flint tower and recently renovated interior, is worthy examina-
tion. It was built on the site of a Koman place of worship, by
Archbishop Courteney, in the latter part of the 14th century,
and after many mutations was cruelly ill-used at the time of
the civil wars, when a man named Blesse was paid by the
Puritans half-a-crown a day to break the beautifully painted
windows. When undergoing restoration, in 1844, the work-
men discovered some ancient paintings of a large size ; they

80 BEODIHGTOH.

are in good preservation, but the execution is somewhat
indifferent Monuments to the Archbishops Sheldon, Whit-
gift, and others, are to be here seen, exhibiting appropriate
magnificence of embellishment. The Archbishops of Canter-
bury had a palace here for many centuries, and a portion of
it, used as a laundry, still remains. In exploring the country
round Croydon — and finer scenery is not to be met with fifty
miles from town — the rambler must consult his own con-
venience and powers of pedestrianism. We give him a choice
of routes, right and left of the station, which may serve at
different times as useful hints for a day's ramble.

BeddingUm is a capital point for a stroll, being two miles
and a half from Croydon, and reached through a highly
picturesque district The village, situated on the banks of the
Wandle, has a church built of flint, and, though recently
renovated, has still a portion remaining of the original
structure, belonging to the time of Richard the Second. A
glance within will show an ancient Elizabethan pulpit, a
curious square font supported by four pillars, and several
tombs of the Carews, one especially being remarkable — a
monumental brass to Nicholas Carew, dated 1432. Bedding-
ton Park has been for at least four hundred years the seat of
the Carew family, the present possessor being Captain Charles
Carew, of the Royal Navy. In 1.599 and 1600 Queen Elizabeth
was a frequent guest at their mansion, and her favorite walk
is still pointed out, with an oak tree she is said to have
planted. The old building being burned down, in 1709, with
the exception of the hall, the present mansion stands precisely
on the site of that erected by Sir Francis Carew, and still
wears an aspect of ancient grandeur that carries us back to
the time of square cut coats and flowing ruflSes. Sir Francis
Carew was the brother-in-law of Sir Walter Raleigh, who
brought over the pips of some oranges, which were here
planted, for the first time in England, and thriving exceed-
ingly, proved the origin of the orangery now attached to th«
grounds.

ADDINGTON. 81

Carshalton is a mile further, and in the very heart of the
village has a beautiful expanse of water, which, receiving the
contributions of various springs gushing from the chalky soil,
is afterwards known as the river Wandle. The trout found
in this stream are unexceptionable in quality and quantity.
The church is in the early English style, with some antique
brass memorials to Nicholas Ganeysford and family. Near
the churchyard is a spring, over-arched with stone, and called
" Queen Anne Boleyn's Well," from some vague tradition of
her having stopped to admire its crj'Stal clearness on her way
from Hever. The walks from here over Dupper's Hill and
Banstead Downs are delightful, yielding prospects of great
extent and infinite beauty. Home Tooke lived for many
years at Purley House, not far distant, and there wrote his
celebrated grammarian treatise, called " The Diversions of
Purley." At Woodmansterne, six miles from Croydon, there
is an old tree, said — but we think erroneously — to mark the
highest point in the county. It is certain, however, that the
ground about here is level with the cross of St. Paul's.

On the left, or eastern, side of Croydon there are equally
attractive spots with those we have just noticed. Passing
through Addiscombe, where is situated the Military College of
the East India Company, in which about 150 cadets are
educated, we may make our way round to Addington, nearly
four miles from Croydon. Here is an antique church of the
time of Edward IH. in some portions, but rebuilt, about 1777,
after a combination of orders that may be called, for want of
a better, the early Churchwarden style. The chief feature,
however, of the place is Addington Park, the seat of the
Archbishop of Canterbury, and formerly a hunting lodge of
Henry VIII. The mansion, built at the cost of £40,000,
coDttmands some extensive views, and the grounds are
spacious and well planted. The vicinity is rich in pleasant
strolls, and green lanes and breezy footpaths abound. There
are several Saxon barrows, too, upon the hills, well worth
inspection, one presenting no less than 25 tumuli clustered

G

82 BEIGATE.

together, and a high mound, the burial place of a great
unknown, 37 feet in diameter. A circular encampment of two
acres, environed by a double moat, may still be seen on
Thunderfield Common. A delightful day may be spent in
rambhng about here, taking a train from the Brighton
Station of the Croydon Railway back, for the sake of
shortening the return distance.

Pursuing our route, by railway, for those inclined to get
still further out, we pass through the Merstham Tunnel — 180
feet beneath the surface, and a mile in length — and stop at the
Keigate Station, from which Eeigate is about a mile and a
half distant. Or the pedestrian can alight at Merstham, and
enjoy a two miles walk through Gatton Park. There are
omnibuses generally to meet the trains. The t^n of Reigate
is on a bed of various sands, chiefly white, highly estimated
for the plate glass manufacture. Of its once famous castle,
held by the De Warrena family, no remains exist, but a
cavern under the castle mount, called " The Baron's Cave" —
from a supposition that here the barons fii-st drew up an
outline of Magna Charta — is evidently a subterraneous portion
of the old fortress. It descends about 200 feet into a vault
150 feet long and nearly twelve feet high. Whether a natural
chasm or an artificial excavation has not been very clearly
ascertained, but it was most probably the latter. A small fee
is i-equired for showing it by the Cicerone of the spot. The
castle was taken, in 1216, by the Bai'ons, aided by the Dauphin
Louis of France, and was demolished soon after. At the east
end of the town is the church, with little exteriorly remarkable
beyond what it gains from its situation. Some monuments
within are, however, worth looking at. In the chancel is
interred Lord Howard Earl of Effingham, who, as High
Admiral of the English Fleet, so materially assisted in routing
the Spanish Armada; the date is 1588. A monument to the
Ladbroke family, and one to Sir Thomas Bludder and his
wife, who died in 1618, present some singular sculptures of
full length figures. Over the vestry is a rather rare thougli

DORKING. 83

very sei'viceable addition to a parochial church, in the shape
of a library, instituted, in 1518, by Jolm Skynner; it chiefly
comprises works of divinity. About lialf a mile to the south
of the town is the " Priory," a modem structure, the seat of
Earl Somers, occupying the site of the ancient monastic
establishment founded, in 1240, by William de Warrena.
Ascending the hill there is a fine panoramic view over the
adjacent country, which well repays the excursionist for going
a little out of his way to enjoy this expansive survey of the
Weald and Downs of Sussex and Surrey. Before leaving the
town there is the old Market House, with the ToAvn Hall
above it, which must claim a passing notice, as marking the
site of one of the many way-side chapels dedicated to Saint
Thomas a Becket, The pilgrims' road to Canterbury led round
by the chalk hills near Merstham, and it was doubtless by tliis
route that Chaucer's immortal company passed onward to the
shrine.

From Reigate to Dorking there is a walk, ride, or drive of
six miles, which is certain to gratify the tastes of all lovers of
fine scenery. A coach passes along from Reigate to Guildford
every afternoon, and for a small fare will give the pedestrian
an opportunity of saving his locomotive powers for a stroll
round the tOAvn and over the surrounding hills. Just before
entering Dorking he will have his attention attracted by
Deepdene, the seat of H. T. Hope Esq., the gi-ounds belonging
to which have been lately considerably extended by the
purchase of Betchworth Castle and Chai-t Park. There are
numerous ■^'illas scattered about the neighbom-hood, most of
them in the prettiest situations imaginable. Dorking is famous
for its peculiar breed of fowls, thought to have been originally
inti'oduced by the Romans, and is one of the most lively and
diarmingly environed places in all Surrey. Occupying a
portion of the Valley of the Mole, on the south side of the
North Downs, it has a range of hills within its precincts that
make perfect cosmoi'amas of the surrounding villages, each
step higher on the slope of the Downs giving a change in the
g2

84 UIITH HILL.

prospect "We would especially recommend those who can
spare the time to sleep at one of the Dorking inns — there are
several both good and reasonable — and set off, early next
morning, to Leith Hill, four miles to the south. The view
from the summit, nearly a thousand feet above the level of the
sea, will astonish those who fancy there can be nothing worth
looking at in this way south of Snowdon. If the trip can be
made of a fine summer or autimmal morning, rising at dawn
and getting up the hill time enough to see the mist dispersed
by the growing sunlight, the pleasure is considerably enhanced.
There is a little inn, half way up, where a breakfast after a
simple but clean and comely fashion can be obtained, and we
hold this by no means of minor importance, after an experience
of the fearful appetites we have seen created on the way. The
hill is crowned by a small structure, traditionally said to mark
the spot where an eccentric farmer of the neighbourhood was
buried on horseback upside down, so that when the world was
tamed — as he believed it then soon would be — topsy-tuny,
he might come up at last in a right position. A day on Leith
Hill is a capital substitute for a trip to Switzerland, and its
beauties are — to their shame be it spoken — not half so well
known to Londoners as they deserve. It is the very haunt for
secluded meditation, with nothing to be heard but the dozy
chirruping of insects among the grass, and the distant song
of the soaring skylark far beneath. Box Hill, where the Mole
disappears and again oozes through the porous soil at
Leatherhead, the Vale of Mickleham, with Norbury Park,
Walton-on-the-Hill, and the country round Leatherhead, are
all so many delightiul spots that can be made to yield the
greatest enjoyment, with no other conditions than a moderately
filled purse and fine weather.

Leatherhead is five miles from Dorking, on the banks of the
Mole, that has now gained importance enough to be crossed
by a bridge, and, though a small town, has some very sub-
stantial dwellings, with a venerable church of the 13th century
rising firom an eminence at the east end. Ashstead, midway

EPSOM. 89

between Leatherbead and Epsom, has a fine park, the seat
of the Hon. Col. Fulke Greville Howard, and is plentifully
provided with deer.

Epsom, two miles further, enjoys a world-wide celebrity
for two very different things — its Race-course and its Salts.
WhUst the former, however, still flourishes in unabated attrac-
tion, the latter has been long superseded by an artificial pre-
paration of the same nature and bearing the same name. In
the 17th century this was the fashionable Spa of England,
and the newspapers of the time advertised *' that the post will
go every day to and fro, between London and Epsom, during
the season for drinking the waters." In the time of Chai'les I.
these salts were so celebrated that they were sold at 5s. the
ounce, and from 1690 to 1720 the wells were in their zenith
of prosperity. As chemical science improved, cheaper and
more abundant sources were discovered, and even sea water
was found to yield it by evaporation. It is simply a sulphate
of magnesia, and is generally prepared for commerce by
subjecting magnesian limestone to the action of muriatic and
sulphuric acid. The old bath room was pulled down in 1804.
The race-course, on the Downs south-east of the town, with its
noble " Grand Stand," and the annual attractions of the
"Derby" day, form a combination of attractive features too
familiar to need more than a brief mention. Epsom Races —
the most truly national festival of which we can boast — have
been held annually on the same spot since 1730; the two
great races, " The Derby" and " The Oaks," deriving their
names, one from the title of the nobleman by whom it was
instituted, and the other from the fine seat of the Earl of
Derby, near Sutton, called " The Oaks."

Ewell is one mile from Epsom, and was, in the time of
Henry VIIL, famous for its magnificent Palace of Nonsuch,
which, for costly splendour of decoration, was said to have
been without a rival in Europe. It was demolished, by a
caprice of the Duchess of Cleveland, in 1670, and now not a
vestige of its former grandeur remains. Unless a return trip

86 BdTCHAH.

on the recent extension of the Croydon Railway is preferred,
we can proceed back to London by way of Chcam, Sutton,
and Mitcham, whence a great portion of the medicinal plants
•old by the herbalists and apothecaries is derived. The air of
this region is heavy with the exhaled fragrance of peppermint
and lavender; and fields of chamomiles, poppies, rhubarb,
wormwood, and aniseed, meet the eye in every direction. We
can go from Mitcham either through Tooting and Clapham,
or through Streatham and Brixton, back over the bridges to
London. Or, should inclination and convenience render it
desirable, we can suggest, as another agreeable road, the walk
of four miles, from Ewell to the Kingston Station, over
Kingston Common, and so return by the South- Western
Railway.

EXCURSION V.

LONDON TO GUILDFORD BY THE SOUTH-WESTERN
1!AIL\VAY— GUILDFORD CASTLE— SAINT CATHERINE'S HILL—
THE " HOG'S BACK"— SUTTOX PLACE— LOSELY HALL— FARN-
HAM— FARNHAM CASTLE— WAVERLY ABBEY— FARNBOROUGH
STATION.

In one hour and a half after leaving Nine Elms the quick
trains of the South- Western Raihvay will set a passenger
down at Guildford, which, though so full of objects to render
a day's jaunt delightfully interesting, was little visited by
excursionists from town imtil the extension of the line from
Woking made the distance fall within the compass of an
afternoon's journey. Seated on the slope of a chalk hill rising
from the river Wey, the aspect of the town, on our first
entrance, is singularly striking and picturesque ; the streets,
too, have a cheerful bustle about them, and the salubrity of
the air is well attested by the broad ruddy featxires of the
farmers that we encounter about the market-place. The
visitor, after the discussion of that refreshment which his
railway ride will have rendered requisite, vdll of course go
down the High Street, wherein he shall see, on the north side,
a venerable building cro^vTied with a turret, and having a
clock projecting into the street, with a double dial east and
west. This is the Town Hall, a building about 170 years old,
and the place of meeting for the to^vn and county quarter
sessions. Opposite is the Com Market. The three parish
churches, St. Nicholas, on the west, Trinity, in the east, and
St. Mary's, on the south, are of various degrees of architectural
merit; Trinity Church being the most modem, and St, Mary's
the most antique. The remains of Guildford Castle, built
about the time of the Norman Conquest, are scattered down

88 FABNHAM.

the south side of the High Street, where some of the outer
walls, of amazing strength and thickness, may yet be seen to
attest the solidity and magnitude of this formidable fortress. Its
position, commanding the river Wey, was well calculated for
the defence of the town. Many portions of the walls, endur-
ingly built of flint and ragstone, are 10 feet thick. Abbot's
Hospital, founded in the reign of James I., by George Abbot,
Archbishop of Canterbury, is an interesting relic of well-
directed munificence. There are twelve aged men and eight
aged women admitted to the benefits of this institution, which
had an endowment on a very liberal scale. The environs of
Guildford have many attractions, not among the least of
which is St. Catherine's Hill, about a mile from the town,
which, with a continuation of the ramble acrosss the hilly
range called the " Hog's back," will be found to yield most
delightful views. Sutton Place, built by Sir Richard Western
in 1530, and Losely Hall, reputed to have originated from Sir
Thomas More, are both within two miles of the town.

From Guildford there is a magnificent drive, of about ten
miles, on to Famham, across the hills and through two
picturesque little villages, called Puttenham and Scale. To
the left of Scale and " the Hog's Back" is Hampton Ixxlge,
embosomed among the trees, the elegant mansion of Henry
Lawes Long Esq., author of several antiquarian works of
celebrity. Hops and antiquities both invest Famham with
considerable importance, and render its name familiar alike to
ale-drinkers and antiquarians. The ruins of Famham Castle,
which may be seen on a hill to the north of the town, are in
very good preservation. The founder was Bishop Henry De
Blois, brother to that "worthy peer" King Stephen, and
though it is certain, in our days of ci^-ilization, a church would
be deemed more befitting the outlay of a bishop than a castle,
the design was then spoken of as a sound proof of ecclesiastical
prudence. It was garrisoned for Charles L by Sir John
Denham, but Waller, who commanded the Roundheads,
necessitated a retreat, and blew up the fortress in 1642. After

FABNHAM. 69

the restoration it was rebuilt, and the Bishop's palace within
restored to its former splendour. The ascent to the keep,
which was once flanked by two massive towers, is very
impressive, and, passing through the doorway, the visitor
reaches a long avenue, terminated by another doorway, and
thence can look into the open area of the ancient " donjon."
Saxon columns and pointed arches are visible, both on the
east and south side of the great court, and the deep ditch
sun-ounding the outworks is devoted to the more peaceful art
of cookery, as a kitchen garden. The present Bishop of
Winchester has made some slight alterations and additions to
the structure, erecting a spacious library, and embellishing it
with some valuable pictures, shown occasionally to visitors
properly recommended. Adjoining the castle is the " Little"
Park, comprising about 300 acres, and having a pleasant
promenade, formed by an elm grove, wliich extends across
the park for nearly a mile. At an inn called the "Jolly
Farmer," in Abbey Street, was bom William Cobbett, who
has repeatedly testified in his works the interest with wliich
he viewed the place of his nativity. About a mile and a half
from the town, through Moor Park, will be found the
exquisitely beautiful ruins of " Waverly Abbey," the property
of — Nicholson Esq., and the curious cavern, known in the
vernacular, as " Mother Ludlam's." This is a rare region for
an artist to find materials for his sketch-book, and there is for
others, icthyologically disposed, some respectable fishing in
the Blackwater.

It was at Moor Park that Sir William Temple, a well-
known statesman and miscellaneous writer, passed the evening
of his busy life, having the renowned Jonathan Swift, then a
young man, residing with him as his amanuensis. Here it was
that Swift engaged in a " love affair" with Miss Hester John-
son, a daughter of the steward of Sir William Temple, and
the same lady whom he has immortalised under the name of
Stella. When Swift returned to Ireland, Miss Johnson,
accompanied by another female of maturer age, went to

90 SELBOBME.

reside in his neighbourhood, and the unhappy issue of this
attachment is well known. Stella, though ultimately united
to Swift by a private marriage in the garden of the Deanery,
never enjoyed any public recognition of the tie, and she soon
after died worn out with wasted hope and blighted anticipa-
tions. Ten miles from Famham is the picturesque village of
Selbome, the birthplace of the Rev. Gilbert White, who has, in
his " Natural History " of this spot, graphically described the
peculiarities of the country round : — " The soils of this district,"
he says, " are almost as varied as the views and aspects. The
high part to the south-west consists of a vast hill of chalk,
rising 300 feet above the village, and divided into a sheep
down, the high wood, and a long hanging wood called the
Hanger. The covert of this eminence is principally beech,
the most lovely of all forest trees, whether we consider its
smooth rind or bark, its glossy foliage, or graceful pendulous
boughs." The prospect is vast and extensive, being bounded
by the Guildford range of the Sussex Downs, and the Downs
round Dorking and Reigate, which altogether, with the
country round Alton and Famham, form a noble and expan-
sive outline. The pedestrian, therefore, who has time to spare,
may well be tempted to extend his excursion on to Selbome.

Famborough Station is only six miles from Farnlmm, and
here the excursionist can come over in the afternoon or
evening by a reasonable conveyance, deposit himself in one of
the South-Western trains, and be back in another two hours
amid the streets and shops of London.

EXCURSION I.

LONDON TO GREENWICH— BILLIKGSGATE-THE CUS-
TOM HOUSE— THE TOWER— SAINT KATHERINE'S DOCKS—
LOKDON DOCKS— WAPPING—ROTHERHITHE— THE TUNNEL-
WEST INDIA DOCKS— DEPTFORD—GREEN'WICH— THE HOS-
PITAL—THE PAINTED HALL— THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY—
THE P.\RK—BLACKHEATH— LEE— SHOOTER'S HILL— ELTHAM
— ELTHAJI PALACE— WOOLWICH— THE ARTILLERY BARRACKS
—THE ROYAL ARSENAL— THE " REPOSITORY" AND " ROTLTsDA"
—THE "MILITARY COLLEGE"— THE DOCKYARD— ARRANGE-
MENTS OF ADMISSION— RETURN TO TOWN.

Thrbe are no less than four modes of getting to Greenwich,
each of them to be severally commended as speedy, agreeable,
and economical. They are: — 1. By omnibus from Charing
Cross down the New Kent Road. 2. By Greenwich Rail-
way from the south side of London Bridge. 3. By Blackwall
Railway from Fenchurch Street to Blackwall, crossing the
river by a steamer; and 4, by Steamboats from Westminster,
Waterloo, Blackfriars, and London Bridges, from which two
companies keep up a constant succession of departures every
twenty minutes throughout the day. For the sake of variety
we shall proceed to describe the journey by water, which, of a
fine day, is not only the most agreeable, but, as ftimishing an
excellent opportunity of seeing the scenery of the Thames, is
perhaps most desirable to strangers.

Leaving London Bridge, a perfect forest of masts, belong-
ing to ships of all sizes and all nations, looms out in the
Pool. Billingsgate, situated chiefly at the back of that cluster
of buildings by the Custom House, has been since the days of
William III. the most famous fish-market in Europe. The
Custom Hovse, likewise on our left, was begun in 1813, and
finished four years afterwards, at a cost of nearly half-a-

94 EOTHERHITHK.

million. It contains nearly 200 distinct apartments, each
having a range of communication with the Long Room, which
is 197 feet long, and 50 feet high. One hundred clerks are
engaged about this room alone, and the principal business of
'' clearing" is here conducted. We next see the Tower, said to
have been built by Julius Csesar, and afterwards reconstructed
by William the Conqueror. The last state prisoners here were
Thistlewood and his associates, in 1820, for the Cato Street
conspiracy. The public have free access from ten till four: one
shilling being charged to \ievr the regalia. About half-a-mile
lower down are the warehouses of Saint Katlierine's Docks,
whicli cost one million in construction, and were first opened
in 1828. The London Docks, close by, opened in 1805, occupy
a space of about 30 acres. Wapping is a well-known resort
for sailors and those connected with maritime pursuits. At
Execution Dock pirates were formerly hung in chains. Rother-
hithe, opposite, is, in its river frontage, only distinguished by a
mass of warehouses, and the glimpse we get of the old parish
church, where Prince Lee Boo was buried. The Tunnel, over
which we next pass, was first commenced, to afford a subaqeous
communication between the two sides of the river, in 1825,
and was completed, after much difiiculty and expense, in
twenty years. Sir I. Brunei was the projector and engineer.
The height is nearly 25 feet, and the length 1,300 feet. One
penny toll is charged for each passenger. Entering the Lower
Pool we pass Limehouse, where the Regent's Canal communi-
cates with the Thames, and have next to notice the West India
Docks, opened in 1802, after an expenditure of £1,200,000,
and extending over an area of 204 acres. On the opposite
side of the river are the Commercial Docks, after which is
passed Earl's Sluice, forming the boundary between Surrey
and Kent. Deptford, where the dockyard and its bustling
animation gives a lively appearance to the shore, reminds one
of Peter the Great, who, in 1698, came to Sayes Court and
studied the cnift of ship- building at the once picturesque
retreat of Evelyn, the auto-biographist and author of '" Sylva."

GREENWICH. 95

But, alas for the f^lories of Sayes Court — its glittering hollies,
long avenues, and trim hedges! That portion of the victualling
yard where oxen arc slaughtered and hogs salted for the use
of the navy occupies the enchanting grounds wherein Evelyn
was wont to delight, and on the site of the mansion itself is
the common workhouse of the parish. Approaching Green-
wich Reach, where large quantities of white bait are caught
in the season, the opening of the river discloses a pretty view
of a distant country beyond, and, with a few more revolutions
of the paddle wheel, we are brought to our destination,

Greenwich presents a striking appearance from the river, its
Hospital forming one of the most prominent attractions of the
place. Here was the palace erected by Humphrey Duke of
Gloucester, and by him called Placentia, and here were bom
Henry VHI. and his two daughters, Queens Mary and
Elizabeth. Charles 11. began the present magnificent edifice,
and William III. appropriated it to its present patriotic
purpose, since which time successive sovereigns have con-
tributed to enrich it with various additions. As the first
generally seen we shall begin our description with an account
of its interior. The Chapel and Picture Gallery are open
gi'atis on Mondays and Fridays; on other days threepence
each is charged for admission. It is as well to remind the
reader that the Hospital consists of four distinct piles of
building, distinguished by the appellations of King Charles's,
King "William's, Queen Mary's, and Queen Anne's. King
Charles's and Queen Anne's are those next the river, and
between them is the grand square, 270 feet wide, and the
terrace by the river front, 865 feet in length. Beyond the
square are seen the Hall and Chapel with their noble domes,
and the two colonnades, which are backed by the eminence
whereon the Observatory stands throned amid a grove of
trees. In the centre of the great square is Rysbrach's statue of
George II., carved out of white mai'ble, from a block taken
from the French by Sir George Rooke, and which weighed
eleven tons. On the west side is King Charles's building,

96 GREENWICH.

erected chiefly of Portland stone in the year 1684. The whole
contains about 300 beds, distributed in 13 wards. Queen
Anne's building, on the east side of the square, corresponding
with that on the opposite side, was began in 1693 and
completed in 1726. There are here 24 wards with 437 beds,
and several of the officers' apartments. To the south-west is
King William's building, comprising the great hall, vestibule,
and dome, erected, between 1698 and 1703, by Sir Christopher
Wren. It contains 1 1 wards and 554 beds. Queen Mary's
building was, with the chapel, not completed till 1752, It
contains 13 wards and 1,100 beds. The Painted Hall, a noble
structure opposite the chapel, is divided into three rooms,
exhibiting as you enter statues of Nelson and Duncan, with 28
pictures of various sizes; the chief are Turner's large picture
of " The Battle of Trafalgar," the " Relief of Gibraltar," and
the " Defeat of the French Fleet under Compte de Grasse."
On the opposite side is Loutherbourg's picture of Lord
Howe's victory on the memorable 1st of June, 1794, whilst
above are suspended the flags taken in the battle. The other
pictures up the steps are chronologically arranged, the most
prominent being " The Death of Captain Cook," the " Battle
of Camperdown," " Nelson leaping into the San Josef," and
" The Bombardment of Algiers." It may not be generally
known that every mariner, either in the Royal Navy or
merchant service, pays sixpence a month towards the support
of this noble institution, which has, of course, besides a
handsome revenue (£130,000) derived from other sources.
The pensioners, who are of every rank from the admiral to
the humblest sailor, are qualified for admission by being either
maimed or disabled by age. Foreigners who have served two
consecutive years in the British service are equally entitled to
the privileges, and the widows of seamen are exclusively
appointed nurses. The Hospital was first opened in January,
1705, and now the pensioners pro%'ided with food, clothes,
lodging, and a small stipend for pocket-money, number nearly
2,500. The number of out-pensioners is about 3,000. The

GREENWICH. 97

"Royal Naval School," for training the sons of seamen to the
naval service, is a most interesting institution, administering
the best instruction to now about 450 boys.

The "Royal Observatory," occupying the most elevated
spot in Greenwich Park, was built on the site of the old castle,
the foundation stone being laid on the 10th of August, 1675.
The first superintendent of the establishment was Flamstead,
and he commenced his observations in the following year. It
stands about 300 feet above the level of the river, for the
shipping in which the round globe at its summit drops
precisely at noon, to give the exact Greenwich time. The
noble park is chiefly planted with elms and chesnut trees, and
contains 188 acres. It was walled round with brick in the
reign of James I. The views fi'om the summit are very fine,
embracing perhaps the finest prospect of London and the
Thames, the forests of Hainault and Epping, the heights of
Hampstead, and a survey of Kent, Surrey, and Essex, as far
as the eye can reach. The flitting of the fawns through the
distant glades, the venerable aspect of the trees themselves —
many of them saplings in the time of Elizabeth — and the
appearance of the veteran pensioners, some without a leg or
arm, others hobbling on from the infirmity of wounds or age,
and all clad in the old-fashioned blue coats and breeches, with
cocked hats, give beauty and animation to a scene which no
other countiy in the world can boast.

A small doorway in the south-western extremity of the
park brings us out with a sudden contrast on to Blachheath,
where Wat Tyler assembled the Kentish rebels in the reign of
Richard II., and where Jack Cade and his fellow insurgents
are said to have held their midnight meetings in a cavern
which still remains, though so choked up as to be considered
nearly inaccessible. Lee is about a mile distant, crossing the
Heath towards the south. In the old church was buried
Halley the astronomer. On the east ofBlackheath is"Morden
College," founded in 1695, for decayed merchants, and now
having about forty recipients of its benefits. Following the

98 shooter's hux.

old Dover-road, which crossing the Heath leads on to
Shooter's Hill, we pass a rustic little hostelry, on our left,
distinguished by the peculiar title of ^he " Sun-in-the-Sands."
Hazlitt, Hunt, and others of our essayists, were often wont to
ramble over here ; there is the advantage of an open balcony,
from which a pleasant view may be obtained of the surround-
ing country. It is recorded by old Hall, the historian, that
King Henry VHI. often rode " a-maying from Greenwich to
the high ground of Shooter's Hill with Queen Katherine his
wife, and many lords and ladies in gay attire." Several jousts
and tourneys took place here in the same reign, at one of
which the King himself, accompanied by the Duke of Suffolk,
the Earl of Essex, and Sir George Carew, challenged all
comers to tilt at the barriers. This was on the 20th of May in
the 8th year of King Harry's reign: he got too crass and
corpulent for such athletic pastimes afterwards. Shooter's
Hill — anciently Suiter's hill, from the number of applicants,
doubtless, that came this way to procure places about the
court — is 446 feet high, and commands an expansive prospect.
The "mighty mass of brick and smoke and shipping," as
Byron calls the view of London from this point, is well con-
trasted with the foliage of the wooded country extending
towards the south beyond the vale of Eltham. On the summit
rises the commemorative castle of Sevemdroog, built, in 1784,
by Sir William James, to celebrate the conquest of one so
called on the coast of Malabar.

For those who either have seen Woolwich or who prefer
postponing their visit thither for a distinct excursion, we can
especially recommend a deviation from Shooter's Hill down
the inviting green lane at its base that leads to Eltham, a
pleasant walk of hardly two miles. Here stood anciently one
of the most magnificent of England's royal palaces. Anthony
Bee, the " battling Bishop " of Durham, erected the first man-
sion, about the middle of the 13th century, and on his death
the jnanor with its possessions fell to the Crown, which is still
the rightful owner of the property. John, son of Edward H.,

ELTHAM. 99

was bora here, in 1315, and was thence called John of
Eltham. In the next reign the Parliament was here con-
vened, and Edward IV., after rebuilding it, kept his Christ-
mas here with great sjilendour in 1482. Henry VII. made still
further additions, and in his time the Royal Palace consisted
of four quadrangles enclosed within a high wall and encircled
by a moat. A garden and three parks were attached,
comprising about 1,800 acres, and were well stocked with
deer. The many fine old trees that still remain show how
richly wooded this district must have formerly been. AU
that now remains of this once stately edifice is the Hall or
Banquetting Room, which has been for years converted to the
plebeian uses of a barn. Nothing can be more interesting than
this relic of ancient kingly grandeur. The symbol of the rose,
seen on various portions of the building, identifies the Hall as
that erected by Edward IV. In 1828 its neglected condition
attracted the attention of antiquarians, and government under-
took the work of restoration, to secure the permanence of what
remained. The Hall is about 100 feet long, and 60 feet high,
and it has been well said " the taste and talent of ages are
concentrated in its design." The windows have been built up,
but the splendid roof is nearly perfect. From the immense
length of the beams, sound and straight throughout, it has
been considered that a forest must have yielded its choicest
timber for the supply, and it is evident the material has been
wrought with amazing labour and admirable skill. Some of
the walls of the old garden are perceptible, to the east of the
palace, and there is an ancient dwelling close by worth notice.
In 1834 some curious subterraneous passages were discovered.
Under the ground-floor was found a trap-door opening into a
room underground, ten feet wide, and communicating with
Middle Park, where there were excavations sufficient to
contain sixty horses. About 500 feet of this passage was
entered, and 200 feet of another, which passed under the
moat, and was believed, from traditions extant, to lead under
Blackheath to Greenwich or the river. In the field leading
h2

1^00 woorwiCH.

from Eltham to Mottingham the archway was broken into,
but the brickwork could be traced considerably further in the
same direction. After leaving the Hall go and see Eltham
Church; not that it is aixhitecturally remarkable, but in the
churchyard will be found a tomb to Doggett, the comedian,
who bequeathed the coat and badge still rowed for every 1st
of August by the "jolly young watermen" of the Thames.
Hence we can get back to Greenwich, and go home by
railway.

Woolwich can be reached either by water, or, as forming a
continuation of our present stroll down the road, we can turn
off by the sixth mile-stone and go through Charlton, or take
the road to the left at Shooter's Hill, Of course nearly
all the interest connected with AYoolwich is concentrated in
the government establishments, which are acknowledged to
be the finest in the world. These, consisting of the Dockyard,
Arsenal, and Royal Military Repository, we shall describe in
the rotation generally adopted when seeing them. Coming
firom Shooter's Hill and crossing Woolwich Common, the
extensive range of buildings forming the barracks of the
Royal Artillery first attracts attention. The principal front
extends above 1,200 feet. In the eastern wing is the chapel,
containing 1,000 sittings, and the other principal parts of the
building are the library and reading-room, plentifully supplied
with newspapers and periodicals. The whole establishment
affords excellent accommodation for upwards of 4,000 men.
The troops, when on parade, present a very animated appear-
ance. The "Royal Arsenal" will be observed but a short
distance off, composed of several buildings, wherein the manu-
facture of implements of warfare is carried on upon the most
extensive scale. On entering the gateway the visitor will see
the "Foundry" before him, provided with everything neces-
sary for casting the largest pieces of ordnance, for which, as
in the other branches of manufacture, steam power has been
lately applied. Connected with the " Pattern Room," adjoin-
ing, will be noticed several of the illuminations and devices

WOOLWICH. 101

used in St. James's Park to commemorate the peace of 1814.
The "Laboratory" exhibits a busy scene, for here are made
the cartridges, rockets, fireworks, and the other chemical
contrivances for warfare, which, though full of " sound and
fury," are far from being considered amongst the enemy as
" signifying nothing." To the north are the storehouses, wliere
are comprised outfittings for 15,000 cavalry horses, and
accoutrements for service. The area of the Arsenal includes
no less than 24,000 pieces of ordnance, and 3,000,000 of
cannon balls piled up in huge pyramids. Tlie "Repository"
and "Rotunda" are on the margin of the Common, to the
south of the town, and contain models of the most celebrated
fortifications in Europe, with curiosities innumerable. To the
south-east of the Repository is the " Royal Military Academy,"
for the education of the cadets in all the branches of artilleiy
and engineering. The present building, partly in the Eliza-
bethan style, was erected in 1805, and though 300 could be
accommodated, the number of cadets at present does not
exceed 160. In going from the Arsenal to the Garrison there
will be noticed, on the right of the road, an extensive building
forming the head-quarters of the Royal Sappers and Miners.
On the same side the way is the "Field Artillery Depot,"
where the guns are mounted and kept in readiness for instant
action. The Hospital is to the left of the Garrison entrance,
fitted up with 700 beds, and under the superintendance of the
most skilful medical officers. Erom the Arsenal we proceed to
the Dockyard, which, commencing at the village of New
Charlton on the west, extends a mile along the banks of the
river to the east'. There are two large dry docks for the
repair of vessels, and a spacious basin for receiving vessels of
the largest size. The granite docks, and the Foundry and
Boiler-maker department, recently added, have been great
improvements. Timber sheds, mast-houses, storehouses, and
ranges of massive anchors, give a very busy aspect to the
place, which was first formed in the reign of Henry VIH.,
and considerably enlarged by Charles I. The new " Royal

102 WOOLWICH.

Marine Barracks," designed by Mr. Crew, and just finished
cost £100,000. An excellent feature is the kitchen, appro-
priated to every 40 men, so that the meals may be taken
apart from the bedroom. There is also a school attached for
200 boys and girls. The following form the arrangements of
admission to the above important buildings : — to the Arsenal,
the Koyal Repository, and the Dockyard, free ; the hours
being from 9 till 11 a,m., and 1 till 4 p.m. Visitors are
required to leave their names at the gates. The other
buildings require the escort of one of the principal officers.

Though within the last four years nearly 2,000 additional
houses have been built, the town presents few inducements for
a prolonged visit, and has no feature of interest in itself
whatever. The old church looks better at a distance than
close, and there are few monuments in the churchyard bearing
names familiar to the eye and ear. Perhaps, after his visit to
the Arsenal, the visitor will feel most interested in that to
Schalch, a Swiss, who died in 1776, at the advanced age of
ninety years, sixty of which he passed as superintendent of
the Foundry there. Indeed it was to him chiefly that the
establishment owed its origin, for he was the cause of its
removal from Moorfields, and the improvements made in
conducting the operations.

From Woolwich we have the choice of three speedy modes
of transit to town: — 1. By steamer direct to London Bridge
and "Westminster. 2. By steam ferry across to Blackwall, and
so on by railway to Fenchurch Street ; and 3, by a similar
conveyance to the new station of the Eastern Counties Rml-
way, on the Essex banks of the river, which brings us to
Shoreditch. The excursionist may consult his own con-
venience for preference of choice.

1

3d, m

EXCURSION n.

LONDON BRIDGE TO GRAVESEND — ERITH-PUR-

FLEET — DAKTFORD— GREENHITHE— KORTHFLEET— ROSHEB-
VILLE — GRAVESEND — WINDinLL HILL —TILBURY" FORT-
SPRINGHEAD— COBHAM-COBHAM CHLTICH— COBHAM HALL—
COBHAM WOOD— RETURN TO GRAVESEND.

Gravesend, despite its acknowledged character as the
"Watering-Place" of Cockaigne, where Londoners diumally
resort, and place implicit faith in the salt breezes wafted by an
easterly wind to its shores, is yet one of the most pleasantly
situated, and most easily attained, of all the places throned
upon the margin of the Thames. It is, moreover, a capital
starting point for a series of excursions through the finest
parts of Kent, and has, besides, in its own immediate neigh-
bourhood, some tempting allurements to the summer excur-
sionist in the way of attractive scenery and venerable buildings.
Having previously given a description of the objects passed
down the river as far as Woolwich, we shall resume our
details from that point, to avoid repetition.

Off Woolwich will be observed the old ships known as
"The Hulks," where the convicts, working in gangs, are
employed in various useful works for the benefit of that com-
munity whose laws they have violated. After passing Half-
way Jleach, where there is a small public house, known as
" The Half-way House," indicating that point (14| miles from
London) to be exactly midway between London Bridge and
Gravesend, we see on the Essex coast Dagenham Breach,
where, in December, 1707, the tide broke through the dikes
and flooded upwards of 1,000 acres. Erith next presents its
picturesque church and wooded uplands to the right, and is a
tempting village to loiter in when opportunity serves. A fine

104 EKITH,

pier, at which the boats of the "Diamond" Company call, has
been constructed for the accommodation of those who embark or
disembark here, and an " Arboretum," with extensive pleasure
grounds, has been recently opened to attract -visitors. Erith
Church is a charming study for either artist or antiquary.
The ivy which clings about the structure, and the masses of
foliage that rise beyond, give it a very striking aspect The
structure consists of a nave and chancel, with a low tower and
spire, and evidently has a venerable length of years, for
besides the date of some of its monuments going back as far
as the year 1420, it has been identified as the spot where
King John and the Barons drew up their treaty of peace. In
the south chapel is an alabaster tomb, much mutilated, to the
memory of Elizabeth Countess of Shrewsbury, and her
daughter Anne, Countess of Pembroke, who both died in the
reign of Elizabeth. Adjacent are some fine brasses in good
preservation, though the inscriptions attached to them have
been quite obliterated. They all belong to the Waldens,
members of the same family. Belvidere, the seat of Lord Saye
and Sele, is an elegant mansion, in a very romantic situation,
commanding extensive views over the country round. It was
rebuilt towards the close of the last century, and contains
some fine apartments of true aristocratic splendour. From
Northumberland Heath, a spacious tract of fertile ground in
this parish, the metropohtan markets are largely supplied
with Kentish cherries, and in the neighbourhood some hand-
some houses and villas have been lately erected. East India
vessels frequently anchor in Erith Beach and discharge their
cargoes.

Prtrfleet, with its romantic chalk cliflls and excavations, is
next visible on the Essex shore, and is said to have been thus
caUed from an ejaculation of Queen Elizabeth, who exclaimed,
"Alas! TOj Poor Fleet" as she witnessed from this spot the
departure of her little force to oppose the passage of the
"Invincible" Armada. The "poor fleet" having returned
victorious, the place became thus designated in memory of the

SABTFORD. 105

event, but it seems to have been after all but a sorry royal
puu, for in the time of Edward the Third it was called the
manor of Portflete, and then belonged to the Knights of Saint
John of Jerusalem. Here the Government Powder Magazine
is kept, having been, in the year 1762, removed hence from
Greenwich. About three million pounds of gunpowder are
generally preserved in the building, which of course has been
so constructed that no danger by explosion need be appre-
hended. Lightning conductors are affixed to the exterior, and
the usual regulations are observed when entering. Across the
open country, on the Kentish side, may be seen the ancient
cliurch of Dartford, a creek where the river Darent or Dart
discharges its watei's into the Thames, affording a navigable
communication with the town. Dartford was an important
Eoman station, and is memorable in history as the scene of
Wat Tyler's insurrection in 1382. There are still some
remains of a nunnery founded by Edward III., and the
powder mills and iron foundries of Messrs. Hall give great
importance to the traffic carried on by the inhabitants.

Greenhithe, which -we next pass, has several neat residences
within its limits, occupying very pleasant situations ; but,
beyond the pier, and a small parish church at Swanscombe,
has no feature calling for special mention. The stately
mansion seen from the river is " Ingress Abbey," the seat of
J. Harmer, Esq., and is chiefly composed of the stone
obtained from old London Bridge when it was pulled down.
Swanscombe Wood, at the back, is a rare spot for pic-nic
parties, and has a cavern rejoicing in the appellation of
" Clappernapper's Hole," with some smuggling traditions in
connection with it. Here it was that the men of Kent stopped
the Norman Conqueror, and compelled him to concede the
ancient privilege of Gavelkind. West Thurrock, on the
opposite side the river, is devoid of anything to win more
than a passing glance, though Belmont Castle, a fine castel-
lated edifice belonging to a gentleman named Webb, is in a
very agreeable position. From Greenhithe to Grays — a small

106 BOSHEBriLLE.

market-town on the Essex coast, with a new pier and
numerous brick-kilns — the river is called St. Clement's Reach;
and we then enter Northfleet Hope, where the widened
expanse shows us the approach to Gravesend, and the
straggling buildings of Northfleet poised upon a range of
chalk cMs.

Northfleet has an ancient church, one of the largest in
Kent, containing several monuments of interesting antiquity,
among which will be found one to Dr. Brown, physician
to Charles 11., and some curious brasses of the fourteenth
century. The extensive excavations about here, forming a
sort of miniature Switzerland, not only give the scenery a
wild and romantic aspect, but furnish valuable materials for
the potteries. RosherviUe, though a suburb of Gravesend,
belongs to this parish, and its neat pier is soon seen to the
right, forming an elegant communication with that extensive
range of buildings erected a few years since on the estate of
the late Jeremiah Rosher. The RosherviUe Gardens are open
daily to the public, at the moderate admission fee of sixpence,
and present a combination of attractions, produced by the
united agency of nature and art, that leave them almost
without a rival. It is absolutely astonishing to see what a
fairy-land has been here created out of a chalk-pit There are
gala nights throughout the summer, when fireworks, music,
and illuminations are added to the other enchantments of
the spot The Clifton Baths, on what is called " The Parade,"
are commodiously fitted up for cold, shower, warm, and
vapour bathing, and seem to have been built in grotesque
mimicry of the Pavilion at Brighton.

Gravesend has from the river a varied and pleasing aspect,
which is not destroyed by a more intimate acquaintance with
the town. Passengers by the boats of the " Star" Company
are disembarked at the RosherviUe and Terrace Piers ; those
by the " Diamond " at the Town Pier. The latter, formed of
cast iron, belongs to the corporation, and leads up through
the narrow High Street, studded with taverns, to the London

GEAVESEND. 107

Eoad The Terrace Pier, projecting on 22 cast iron columns
nearly 200 feet into the river, leads direct to Harmer Street
and Windmill Hill, besides affording a convenient approach
to the elegant surburban district of Milton. The Terrace
Gardens, on each side the entrance to the pier, are really very
creditably and tastefully laid out, and as a day-admission-
ticket can be had for twopence, expense is no obstacle to the
public frequenting them. Directly you traverse the streets of
Gravesend you see at a glance for what the town is famous.
Shrimps and watercresses tempt the visitor in every possible
variety of supply, and places where both are obtainable, with
" Tea at ninepence a head," are in wonderful numerical
strength. Like all other resorts for London visitors, tavema
and tea gardens are abundant ; their name is legion, and
most of them have mazes, archery grounds, and " gipsy tents"
attached, where the inquisitive that way can purchase the
pi'ophecy of a magnificent fortune for the smallest sum in
silver. Apartments can be had in nearly every house, and,
from the recognised salubrity of the air, and the beauty of the
scenery surrounding, they are rarely untenanted during the
height of the summer season. There is an excellent market,
held every AVednesday and Saturday; a Town Hall, built in
1836; a Literary Institution, with a library, billiard-rooms,
and assembly-rooms inclusive, built in 1842; churches and
chapels in abundance ; numerous libraries and bazaars ; water-
works on the summit of Windmill Hill ; baths by the river,
and a commodious Custom House near the Terrace Gardens,
Those who like to bathe in something approximating to salt
water should be governed by the influx of the tide, at which
time an ablution that may be called a "Sea-bath" can be
indulged in Avith more personal gratification. Windmill HiU
is, however, the magnet of the multitude, and a pleasanter or
more varied panorama than that to be obtained from its
summit is not to be found in places of much higher preten-
sions. There is one of the best view^s of the Thames winding
between the shores of Kent and Essex, and, on every side, a

108 GRAVESEND.

far-spread landscape that embraces the shipping at the Nore,
Southend Pier, Knockholt Beeches, on the very verge
Sussex, and a range of country spangled with clustered
cottages and distant masses of woodland, that displays around
a picture of unrivalled luxuriance and fertility. The Hill is
crowned by an excellent tavern, called " The Belle Vue," to
the proprietor of which belongs the old windmill — the first
erected in England, and as old in its foundations as the days
of Edward IIL Here refreshments are provided on the largest
and most liberal scale, and an admirable Camera, together
Mrith some pleasure grounds, and a labyrinth of ingenious
construction, offer the best and most captivating allurements
to visitors. Of late years every available spot has been built
upon about the hill, and on a fine day thousands of our
metropolitan denizens, lea\'ing the purlieus of the smoke-
environed city, may be seen here, scattered over its sloping
sides, participating in the healthful enjoyment it affords, and
breathing the purer and firesher atmosphere of its elevated
region. Those aquatically disposed will find it worth their
while to take a boat across the river to Tilbury Fort, opposite,
which was built by Henry VIIL, to guard this portion of the
river, and visitors are permitted, on application to the resident
governor, to inspect the fortifications. Returning to Graves-
end, the environs will be found replete with rural walks to
gratify the eye and mind of the rambler. At Sprinyhead,
where there is a watercress plantation of considerable extent,
will be seen the Cemetery, neatly laid out, and covering an
extent of about six acres. But, of all the places round, none
should neglect an excursion to Cobham, four miles distant,
where, in the old wood and hall, a day's enjoyment can be
most fully ensured. There are several vehicles always ready
to be hired, that will take the visitor at a reasonable rate by
the road ; but as those who can appreciate a delightful walk
will not find the distance too fatiguing, we shall proceed to
indicate the route for the pedestrian. The Hall and Picture
Gallery are open to the public every Friday ; admission is by

COBHAM. 109

tickets, price one shilling each, supplied at Caddel's Lihrary,
and the proceeds thus resulting are applied to the school and
other free institutions of the neighbourhood.

Taking the footpath at the back of "Windmill Hill, the
pedestrian will find it traversing a picturesque country, now
crossing the sweeping undulation of a cornfield, and anon
skirting a shaded copse with bluebells and primroses starting
up in prodigal luxuriance through the tangled underwood.
We next pass through a hop-plantation, and in summer, when
the bine has sprung up to the top of the poles, and the shoots
have thrust themselves ofi" to the next, and so joined in a
leafy communion of luxuriant vegetation, the scene becomes
truly Arcadian, and an excellent substitute for the vineyards
of the south. Leaving the little village of Singlewell to the
right, we have a finger post to guide us, and a few minutes
after reach the outskirts of this sequestered village. The first
object to which the visitor will naturally direct his attention is
the old church, occupying rising ground in nearly the centre
of the parish, and having on the southern side an extensive
view. The antiquarian may here enjoy a great treat in
inspecting the ancient monuments to be found in the interior,
as there are several brasses of the Cobham family, successive
generations of which, from the year 1354, have lived and died
in the parish, as these memorials testify. On an altar-monu-
ment, in the middle of the chancel, are two full length effigies,
with several children around them in a kneeling position.
This was erected to the memory of George Lord Cobham,
who had been the Governor of Calais in the reign of Elizabeth,
and who died in 1558. On the tomb of Maud de Cobham is
a cmious sculptured figure of a dog, and one similar will be
found in the chancel on the tomb of Joan, wife of Keginald
Braybroke., They are worthy notice, as exemplifying the
attachment felt towards two faithful canine adherents to the
fortunes of the family. Outside, on the southern wall, there
are some elegant tablets too of the Darnley family, and
around are many humbler tombs bearing quaint and curious

110 COBHAH.

inscriptions. In such a scene we can aiFord to smile at the
hacknied quotations, the recurrence of the same breaches of
grammar, the inroads upon the laws of poetry and the
common- sense of prose. Occasionally, however, we meet with
epitaphs endowed with a keen perception of beauty, or
indicatiye of strong natural feeling, and these cannot but
excite a solemn pleasure in the heart of the rural pedestrian.
At the back of the church are some almshouses for the
reception of twenty poor people, who have each a quarter of
an acre of land, and a monthly stipend of eighteen shillings.
It was originally founded in 1362. The inmates of this
ancient building, dignified with the name of a college, are
nominated respectively by the proprietor of Cobham Hall, the
wardens of Rochester Bridge, and the neighbouring parishes.
Passing through the village which the readers of " Pickmck"
will remember to have been the scene of one of the most
humorous adventures of that reno\\"ned " Club," we proceed
to the old Hall, bearing the name of a family that, from the
reign of King John to the accession of James I., was amongst
the most eminent in the country. Before describing the
building it will not be uninteresting to glance at the history
of its former o\vners. In the 15th century the Cobham estate
belonged to Joan, grand-daughter and heiress of John Lord
Cobham. This lady had no less than five husbands, one of
them being the celebrated Sir John Oldcastle, who assumed
the title of Cobham. Sir John, who had been the intimate
friend of Henry V. in his younger days, and in whom some
have erroneously detected the original of Sir John Falstafl',
was soon after charged by the clergy with favouring the
Lollards, and inciting " grievous heresy" in the king's
dominions. In the proclamation issued by the King it is
declared that the Lollards meant to destroy him, confiscate
the possessions of the church, and appoint Sir John Oldcastle
president of the Commonwealth. He was in consequence
taken prisoner, in 1616, and, after an obstinate resistance, was
sentenced to be banged as a traitor and burned as a heretic.

COBHAM. Ill

The estates, however, remained in the possession of his widow,
who died in 1433, and from this period till 1596 they de-
scended in lineal succession. In that year they came into the
possession of Henry Lord Cobham, who was Lord Warden of
the Cinque Ports, Constable of Dover Castle, and Lord
Lieutenant of the county. In 1603 this nobleman was
accused, with others, of having been concerned in Sir Walter
Raleigh's conspiracy, and being brought to trial at Winches-
ter, on account of the plague then raging in London, they
were found guilty and judgment of death recorded. The
brother of Lord Cobham was executed, but in his own case
the sentence was remitted, and the estate being confiscated, he
was reduced to the greatest poverty, his death, in 1619, being
accelerated through absolute want. Having thus fallen into
possession of the Crown, the manor of Cobham was granted
by James I. to James Stewart, one of his own kinsmen, who
seems with his successor not to have exhibited very thrifty
management, for the house and grounds were sold at the
close of the 17th century to enable the owner to satisfy his
creditors. The price given furnishes a curious contrast with
that which would be realized in the present day. The deer
park, with the paddocks, containing as by survey 830 acres,
was only valued at ten shillings the acre, the timber, woods,
&c., being all included. It is also incidentally mentioned that
at this time the mansion, which cost £60,000 building, had
fourteen acres of orchard and garden-ground attached.

The remainder of its history may be briefly told. In 1714
the Hall and estate came by man-iage into the possession of
an Irish family of the name of Bligh, one of whom, in 1725,
was created Earl of Darnley, and the seat of the Earls of
Darnley it has continued to be ever since. The Hall is a
massive and stately structure, consisting of two wings and
a noble centre, the work of Inigo Jones. The oldest portions
are those at the two extremities, flanked with octagonal
towers, but modern art, in contributing the sashed windows
and brickwork facing, has increased the comfort of the

112 COBHAM.

mansion at the expense of the picturesque. The Picture
Gallery, having a choice collection of paintings by the old
masters, and the unique gilt hall, form the most prominent
features of attraction in the interior, but the apartments
besides are elegantly furnished, and the quadrangle and old
brick passages of the outbuildings wear about them an
aspect of unmistakeable antiquity. On the south side, leading
up to the principal entrance, is a noble lime tree avenue,
extending upwards of 3,000 feet in length. In the park,
which is nearly seven miles round, there are some noble oak
and chesnut trees, many of them measuring twenty feet and
upwards in circumference. It has also the reputation of pro-
ducing venison of superior flavour, derived from the peculiar
excellence of the herbage, and it was on this fare probably
that both Queen Elizabeth and Charles 11. were regaled when
they visited Cobham ; for the former, according to Strype,
was welcomed with a " delectable banquet and great cheer."
In a romantic spot, towards the south-east end of the park,
on an eminence called " William's Hill," there is a spacious
mausoleum, erected, in 1783, by the present Lord Damley's
grandfather. It is built of Portland stone, in an octagonal
form, after the Doric order, and cost £9,000, but, never having
been consecrated, it has not been devoted to the purpose for
which it was intended.

Cobham Wood is a glorious region for the rambler, and the
footpath to Rochester, through the very heart of its sylvan
solitudes, a delightiiil track to follow. The pedestrian can
also return, through the wood and Upper Shome, to Graves-
end by way of Chalk. Either way, a day's enjoyment here
is complete. The countless hordes of wild flowers, the golden
treasures of the prickly gorse, the dark green majesty of the
fern — that always looks to us like a miniature resemblance to
those Eastern trees spoken of in the " Arabian Nights" — and
all these spangled with the beads of sunlight, flung down,
through the spreading branches overhead, from the azure
canopy above, and there is here enough and more than

COBHAM WOOD. 113

enough to drive away from the heart every sign of care and
worldly grievance. It is no slight addition to the picturesque
charms of the forest foliage if you can wait and watch the
eifect of the sunset, marking the rich gradations of light and
shade in which the quivering leaves ai-e alternately steeped.
In fact there is many a less interesting place to loiter in than
Cobham Wood, and the dreamy tone imparted to the mental
faculties by such a meditative lounge is a sort of warm bath
for the imagination, refreshing it with a reverie which will
enable the every-day realities of life to be more vigorously
grappled with, and more successfully turned to advantage.*

The whole country round here is fuU of temptations for the
erratic rambler, and the winding green lanes and quiet foot-
paths, that lead away from Cobham to the secluded villages
towards the south, are enough to make a staid, sober citizen,
who cherishes an intrusive recollection of dismal counting-
houses and thefr commercial concomitants, envy that reckless
freedom and joyous liberty possessed by the wandering
vagrants whom he will occasionally encounter on the road.
It is just the region where imagination lends a ray of ideal
beauty to even the most trite occurrences of such a roaming
life as that of the gipsy. We feel momentarily fascinated with
that glorious embodiment of the poetry of vagabondism — that
sunny existence spent in bye roads and bosky dells, tented by
the spreading branches of fine old oaks, and sheltered by
Nature's awnings from the summer rays — that reUc of the
eastern clime, which serves as a picturesque inroad on the
dull conventionalities of country living, and throws a dash of
romantic adventure into a chance encounter with the tribe.
Yet with whatever alluring colours fancy may invest the
gipsy life, another moment's reflection soon dispels the
illusion, by reminding us that the aspect under which they

* For farther particulars connected with Gravesend and the scenery of
the coast see " Adams's Guide to the Watcrinp-Places of England," in
■which a complete description is given of all the most admired marina
resorts throughout England, the Channel Islands, &c.
I

114 COBHAM WOOD.

\'iew their career is widely different to what seems apparent
to an unconcerned observer; and that, although daily sur-
rounded by landscapes of rural beauty and sublimity, a want
of mental refinement disqualifies them for the thorough enjoy-
ment of the scenes by which they are environed. But to
those with an imagination properly constructed there is an
extraordinary charm about a ramble of this kind. We put off
all the grating cares and petty annoyances of life when we
put on our easy boots. We become ourselves the very
incarnation of happiness; the pink — possibly not of perfection
— but of pleasantry; and in short, if the proper state of mind
has been duly attained, a day's ramble in Cobham Wood will
make one of those " green spots in memory's waste" on which
it is so delightful afterwards to repose, and listlessly ruminate
over cheerful retrospections: —

" As when in ocean sinks the orh of day,
Long on the wave reflected lustres play ;
These once bright scenes of days left far behind.
Glance on the darkened mirror of the mind."

EXCURSION III.

GRAVESEND TO ROCHESTER— ROCHESTER CASTLE—
THE CATHEDRAL— COWLING CASTLE— BEAUTIFUL SCENERY
OF THE IIEDWAY— CHATHAM— THE DOCKYARD-GARRISON—
BROMPTON BARRACKS — UPNOR CASTLE — THE RACES —
REVIEWS.

From Gravesend to Rochester the excursionist has now the
choice of road or rail. Trains start every hour throughout the
day, and omnibuses likewise depart on the arrival of each
steamboat from London. The Gravesend and Roclicster
Railway runs parallel with the Thames and Medway Canal,
now filled up below Higham, and passes through a tunnel
two miles in length. As the road presents a greater variety of
scenery we shall indicate the objects passed by that route in
preference. Just out of Gravesend, crossing the line of rail-
way in prospective communication with the Terminus by
London Bridge, we pass Milton Church, a venerable edifice,
which, though recently modernised, has still some portions
remaining of the old tower built in the 15th century. On the
other side of Chalk is Chalk Church, one of the most ancient
in England, and having over the porch some cui'ious sculp-
tured figures that have long perplexed antiquaries to account
for their origin. The road then winds over Gad's HDl,
the scene of Falstaff's imaginary encounter with the men
in " buckram," and the Shaksperian adventure on which is
perpetuated by the signboard of a roadside tavern laying in
the hollow beyond. A short distance further and the grey
towers of Rochester Castle, rising above the surrounding
buildings, meet our view, forming a picture, as we descend
the hill towards Strood, of great interest and beauty. Strood,
I 2

116 HOCHESTEE.

though an ancient place, now derives all its importance from
its vicinity to Rochester; so crossing the stone bridge, 560 feet
long, which spans the Medway — here winding on through
cultivated meadows and fertile uplands — we at once enter the
precincts of this time-hallowed cathedral city.

Rochester is believed to have been a British town long
before the Roman invasion, and from ancient documents the
city appejirs to have been walled round at least as early as the
time of the first Ethelbert The bridge itself is one of the
finest old bridges in England, and was built, in 1392, by Sir
Robert Knowles, a reno^vned miUtary knight of the court of
Edward III. If the Saxons had a castle here no portion of
such building remains, for the oldest fragments of the present
ruin are in the early Norman style ; and most probably this
was one of the many fortresses erected by William the Con-
queror. Embosomed amidst the finest scenery in all Kent,
Rochester Castle stands also in an extremely favorable posi-
tion for defence, occupying the south-west angle of the city,
on an eminence rising abruptly from the Medway. Here and
there are vestiges of the outward walls, which formed an
irregular parallelogram of about three hundred feet in length,
strengthened by square and round towers, provided vnth.
loop-holes and machicolations ; but these, with the walls
themselves, are fast crumbling into decay. The composition
used in their structure was the Kentish ragstone, cemented by
a strong grout or mortar, in which immense quantities of sea-
shells were embedded, acquiring from age a consistency equal if
not superior to stone itself. Eour centuries have elapsed since
the castle was last repaired, and the deep ditch, which formerly
defended the north, south, and east sides, is now filled up. Of
all the fragments of the towers remaining none equal in
extent and durabiUty those of " Gundulph's Tower," which
was erected by that busy builder and bishop whose name it
bears. It is of a quadrangular form, 112 feet high, and 70 feet
long at the base. The walls, as they rise from the ground,
incline slightly inwards. Ascending tlie winding stairs, of

BOCHESTEB. 117

about six feet in width, and which, now much decayed, open
into every apartment, we see to advantage the upper stories of
this decayed and roofless ruin. The state apartments appear
to have been in the third story, where there are still four
arched doorways, richly ornamented, and 18 feet in height,
with a column dividing each of about four feet in diameter.
Through the partition walls a well, nearly three feet in
diameter, ascends to the summit, communicating on its way
with each floor of the building. The roof of the highest room
is 93 feet in height from the ground, and beyond this there is
an uncovered battlement rising seven feet higher. The turrets
at the four corners ascend to the height of 12 feet above the
battlement, and hence there is a magnificent view over the
valley of the Mcdway and the country round, inclusive of the
city below and the heights of Chatham. AH the rooms have
fire-places, but, in e's-idence of the discomfort that prevailed
in the " good old times," there is not the slightest indication
of a chimney, the smoke passing through a mere hole in the
wall, which with other openings served for the admission of
light and air.

Rochester Cathedral, one of the oldest ecclesiastical edifices
in England, stands near the middle of the city, a little to the
south of the High Street. It was founded as long ago as the year
604, but the principal portion was erected by Gundulph in the
11th century. William Lambarde, in his "Perambulation of
the County of Kent," speaking of Gundulph, who was Bishop
of Rochester for above 30 years, says " he never rested from
building and begging, tricking and garnishing, until he
had erected his idol building to the wealth, beauty, and
estimation of a popish priory." The architecture is of the
early Norman style, or that which preceded what is com-
monly called the Gothic; it has been considerably repaired of
late, and in 1840 the whole structure undenvent a general
renovation and improvement. Between the years 1827 and
1834 no less than £14,000 was spent in the repairs. The
edifice forms a double cross, and at the intersection of the

118 BOCHESTEK.

transepts is a tower, erected in 1825. The entire length of the
cathedral from east to west is 306 feet. The western and
principal entrance is enriched with a liberal display of florid
architectural ornaments, hut it has been considerably defaced
by time and the Parliamentary soldiers, who are said to have
conTerted one part of the cathedral into a carpenter's shop
and the other into an ale-house. On each side of the door
are a row of small pillars supporting a corresponding series of
arches. Two of the pillars are fashioned into statues repre-
senting Henry I. and his Queen Matilda, in whose time, and
chiefly from whose money, the structure was raised. Under
the arch there is a curious carving representing our Saviour
sitting in a niche, ^vith an angel on each side, and the twelve
apostles at his feet in a lower border, but the design is far
from being intelligible. Above is a large window, evidently
the work of a later age, and indeed the windows throughout,
together with the roof, manifestly have a more recent origin.
The interior contains some attractive monuments, and several
of the early bishops are buried in the crypt underneath, which
is very spacious. The whole is well worthy the outlay of the
small fee for which, with the castle, it may be viewed.
Rochester has, besides the cathedral, two churches remaining
out of the four it once had, and these are very ancient. Saint
Nicholas' Church was built in 1421, and St. Margaret's, much
modernised, has a curious stone font and some old monu-
ments. In the upper part of High Street is an antique
endowment, called " The Poor Traveller's House," where a
frugal breakfast and supper, together with fourpence when
leading, could be obtained by all wayfarers who were not,
according to the inscription, either "Eogues or Proctors."
About four miles north-east of Rochester may be seen the
ruins of Cowling Castle, of which the gateway, flanked by
two large semicircular towers, and an ivy-cro^vncd turret,
near it, alone remain. It was besieged by Sir Thomas Wyatt
in the reign of Queen Mary, and soon after nearly demolished,
the area now enclosing a large tract used as a farm. On the

CHATHAM. 119

Other side of Rochester Bridge an excursion up the Medway
to Maidstone will be found replete with panoramic diversity
of scenery.

Chat/iam — so closely contiguous to Eochester that the
buildings form a line of communication between the two
places — was originally a small village, and owes all its im-
portance to the extensive dockyard and garrison, which ever
invest it with a lively and busy appearance. The entrance to
the dockyard is through a lofty gateway, ornamented with
an embattled tower on each side, and leading to an extensive
area nearly a mile in length. Besides four wet docks, capable
of receiving first rate men of war, a new stone dock has been
lately constructed on a still larger scale. Along the banks
are numerous storehouses — one of which is 660 feet in length
— capacious magazines, a chapel, six slips or launches, and
the commodious residences belonging to the officers connected
with the various departments. The artificers employed in the
dockyard are in time of war above 3,000 in number. To the
west of the docks, on a narrow slip of land between the
church and the river, is the ordnance wharf, where huge tiers
of cannon and pyramids of shot are stored away, for uses to
which let us hope they will have no occasion to be put. The
baiTacks at Brompton are exceedingly large, and afford
accommodation to an enormous force, some estimate of which
may be gathered from the census taken in 1841 giving the
resident marine and military population of Chatham at 6,505.
The hospitals attached are on the most liberal scale of
comfort and expenditure, and the precautions taken to guard
the various premises from fire are singularly complete and
efficacious.

Upnor Castle, which lies on the opposite side of the
Medway, near Strood, is now used as a powder magazine-
Chatham Races are held in August, on the heights, and
always attract a gay concourse of visitors ; but the reviews,
of more frequent occurrence, are a never-failing source of
interest and admiration to the spectators, who muster in

120 CHATHAM.

thousands upon these occasions. The lively music of the
military bands, the bright gaiety of the accoutrements, and
the wondrous precision of the evolutions, form a combination
more calculated than perhaps any other sight in England to
dazzle.the eye and infect the dullest peasant with a passion
for military " glory."

EXCURSION IV.

EDENBRIDGE BY THE SOUTH-EASTERN RAILWAY— THE
RIVER EDEN— ROAD TO HE\T:R— HE\'ER CHURCH— HEVER
CASTLE— ANNE BOLEYN'S BEDROOM— THE SECRET DONJON
—THE GREAT HALL— CHIDDINGSTONE — PENSHURST — THE
PARK AND CASTLE — TONBRIDGE WELLS — SEVENOAKS —
KNOLE— RIVERHEAD— CHEVENING-KNOCKHOLT BEECHES—
HALSTE AD— FARN^OROUGH- KESTON — BROMLEY— BECIUNG-
HAM— THE "QUEEN OF THE GIPSIES "—RETURN HOME.

For oar next excursion the assistance of the South-Eastem
Railway is desirable. Procure a ticket for the Edenbridge
Station, 31 miles from London, and you ^vill be promptly
deposited in one of the prettiest and most picturesque villages
in Kent, after a railway ride that has always something to
recommend it on the score of scenery. The village is about a
mile from the station, and is chiefly inhabited by the followers
of St. Crispin, but the charming pastoral look of the whole
district, traversed by the river Eden, almost justifies the
adoption of such an appellation for the stream. After a glance
at the church, which presents nothing very remarkable, we turn
off by a bye-road to the left, under the direction of a finger-post,
and passing through a highly fertile region, intersected by plea-
sant footpaths amid cornfields and hop-gardens, we reach, after
an agreeable two miles walk, the little hamlet of Hever, where
we may pause at the humble hostel bearing the name of
" Henry VIII.," and recruit our strength with some of mine
host's home-brewed, whilst we refiresh our memory with the
incidents that have made the locality memorable in history.
In the church is a stately marble tomb to the memory of Sir
Thomas Boleyn (father of the unfortunate Anne), with this
inscription: — '^ Here lieth Sir Thomas BuUen, Knight of the
Order of the Garter, Erie of Wiltshire, and Erie of Ormond,

122 HEVEB CASTT£.

wiche deceased the 12 deiie of March in the Tear of ortr Lord
1538." Some memorials of the Cobham and Waldo families
are also in the chancel.

Hever Castle is about a quarter of a mile from the church,
and looks, even at a distance, like a building hallowed by the
associations of the past. It was erected, in the reign of
Edward 111^ by William De Hevre, who obtained a charter
from the king to " embattle his house," and have the privilege
of free- warren. In the reign of Henry the Sixth it was pur-
chased by Sir GreofFrey Boleyn, sometime Lord Mayor of
London, and grand&ther to the luckless maiden who after-
wards became Queen to Henry VHI. At present the Waldo
family are in possession of the mansion, which now forms a
quadrangle enclosing an inner paved courtyard. The front of
the castle is composed of a central keep, with gate and port-
cullis beneath, and a square tower on each side. Most of the
defensive works are in good preservation, the original doors,
wickets, knockers, and gratings being yet remaining. The
courtyard is fancifully inlaid with red bricks, and leads across
to the house, built in the very early Tudor style. The
apartments, to which a small gratuity will generally procure
a Cicerone, are usually entered by what is now the kitchen,
though it formerly served as the great dining hall of the
mansion. This room is very spacious, being 90 feet long and
30 wide, and, having some of the old furniture remaining, is
not traversed without interest. The staircase beyond com-
municates with several small ante-rooms, panelled with oak,
and a long gallery having an ornamented ceiling in stucco.
One of these is Anne Boleyn's bedroom, said to be religiously
preserved in its original condition, and having such a delight-
fully antique appearance that it requires no unwarrantable
credulity to believe the tradition. The very bed whereon
Anne reposed stands in gloomy grandeur in a dark comer of
the room, and, surrounded by its heavy hanging of yellow
damask, looks just the place to create the most intensely
fearful dreams. Here, too, are the very tables and chairs that

1

HEVEB CASTUE. 123

foiined the furniture of her boudoir, and in one of the sides of
the apartment is a dismal recess that most probably ser\'ed as
a strong cupboard for valuables, though its horrors are
increased by a legend that Anne was incarcerated within,
and nearly starved to death, by order of her inhuman
husband. At the upper end of the gallery is a trap- door,
which when lifted up discovers a narrow and precipitons
descent, said to lead as far as the moat, and comprising a cell
very aptly named " the dungeon." Here, in the " troublous
times" of yore, the family are presumed to have secreted
themselves for safety, and a very uncomfortable mode of
seclusion it must have been. Passing from the mansion into
the interior of the castle, to which a winding stair in one of the
towei's will conduct us, we enter the great hall, occupying
nearly the whole ^vidth of the castle, and bearing on its walls
a number of ancient family portraits. Among them is one,
pensive and placid, representing Anne Boleyn herself, in the
dress which she wore on the day of her execution. Her royal
honors were but of short duration. On the 25th of January,
1533, her marriage with the many-wived monarch took place;
on the 1st of June she was cro^vned; on the 7 th of September
she had a daughter, afterwards Queen Elizabeth ; and in less
than three years, on the 19th of May, 1536, in the 26th year of
her age and in the very prime of womanhood, she was
unjustly executed. The whole history of this unhappy union
is perhaps one of the most romantic and tragical in our
English annals. The spot thus imperishably linked with the
name of the ill-fated Queen has been somewhat graphically
described in the following versification, which we quote as
giving a poetic notion of the appearance now presented by
this interesting mansion and castle : —

" Ado\ni the crowded woods of Kent,
With embrasure and battlement,
Vhilome of many a fray the scene,
And still denoting what hath been,
In silent grandeur to the skies
The old grey walls of Hever rise ;

124 PENSHUEST.

The moat, which fed by Eden's stream

Then laved its base, now calm doth seem,

As if (in grief for those whose sway

Holed o'er it in a brigliter day.

And left a charm thereon imprest).

Its tide had wept itself to rest :

The entrance flanked by towers which frown

In all their Gothic sternness down ;

In rust the teethed portcullis hung,

The arch wherefrom the drawbridge swung,

The broad barr'd windows round which time

Hath Ivy- footed dared to climb.

Are features that e'en now declare.

How mighty Hever's glories were."

Leaving Hever we pursue our way towards Penshurst,
encountering, at two miles distance, the old and most
romantic village of Chiddingstone, which only wants a Chalet
or two and some Alpine heights beyond to make it a per-
fect resemblance to a Swiss hamlet. There are here some
vestiges of the ancient Druids, and the church has the credit
of possessing the finest tower in the county. Hardly a mile
and a half further we come to Penshurst, full of associations
connected with valour and poetry. Here the brave Sir Philip
Sidney resided and wrote his Arcadia, and here Ben Jonson,
Waller, Shelley, and others have immortalized in verse its
sylvan glories, Penshurst Castle is now the seat of Lord De
Lisle and Dudley, who has contributed some valuable paint-
ings to the picture gallery, previously rich in the works of the
dd masters. It is of a quadrangular form, including a
spacious court, chapel, and hall, and by the courtesy of the
present proprietor the public are admitted to view the interior,
under certain necessary restrictions. The Sidney family have
held it in possession since the reign of Edward VL Nothing
can be finer than the spacious Park, which was once acknow-
ledged to be the most beautiful in the kingdom, and there is a
famous oak yet standing, which tradition identifies as the one
planted at the birth of Sir Philip Sidney. We can return by rail-
way hence either from the station near the village or go on to

1

8EVEN0AK.S. 125

Tunbridge Wells, about six miles distant. The Tunbridge
station on the South-Eastern Eailway is also within an hour's
walk.

By way of varying the route home we would suggest
taking the coach road back through Sevenoaks, situated on
the ridge of that great chain of sand hills which runs across
the county, and divides the upland from the weald, and in the
midst of a richly diversified country. Near the town is Knole
House and Park, the seat of the late Dukes of Dorset, and
now in the occupation of Earl Amherst. The park consists
of nearly 1,000 acres, and the mansion is reputed the most
magnificent seat in the south of England. The public enjoy
the privilege of admission both to the house and grounds, and
the picture gallery in the former is of unrivalled value, com-
prising the best specimens of the works of Holbein, Titian
Correggio, Vandyke, Lely, Poussin, Teniers, Rembrandt,
Salvator Eosa, and Sir Joshua Reynolds. At Biver Head, a
little village a mile and a half distant, is Montreal, the seat of
Lord Holmesdale, and at Chevening, four miles from Sevenoaks,
is the seat of Earl Stanhope, whose noble mansion and park
are at all times open to the public. The maze formed in the
grounds here is even larger than that at Hampton Court. We
next pass by Knockholt and its high hill, whereupon some old
trees, called " Knockholt beeches," have such a lofty station
that they can be seen from nearly every direction for forty
miles round, and are equally discernible from Leith Hill,
Harrow, and Gravesend. Through Halstead, Farnborough,
and Keston, we come to Bromley, the whole distance exhibit-
ing a continued succession of landscapes, and having traces of
old Roman encampments in the districts surrounding. Brom-
ley is fourteen miles from Sevenoaks and ten from London.
A plain brick building, rebuilt in 1777, on a hill towards
Beckenham, is still a palace of the Bishops of Rochester.
There is a chalybeate spring in the garden, known as the
" well of St. Blaize." Two miles from Bromley is Beckenham,
a little village where there is a specimen of the " Lich Gate,"

126 BECKEXHAM.

on which faneral processions were wont to deposit their
burden and rest on their way to interment In the parish
church of Beckenham was buried (October 24th, 1740) Mar-
garet Finch, the " Queen of the Gipsies," who attained the
great age of 109 years. After travelling for a century over
various parts of the country she eventually settled at Nor-
wood, where her age and the fame of her fortune-telling
attracted numerous visitors, and not a few of rank and title.
From a habit of sitting on the ground, with her chin resting
on her knees, she became so contracted that the posture
became permanent, and when she died they enclosed her body
in a deep square box. Her portrait formerly adorned a house
of entertainment at Nonvood called " The Gipsy House."

We can hence cross over to Sydenham and take the Croy-
don Eailway, or return by road, through Lewisham and
Camberwell, back to the metropolis.

PAKT IV.

ESSEX.
EXCUKSION I.

THE EASTERN COUNTIES RAILWAY (CAMBRIDGE
BRANCH)— STRATFORD— BOW BRIDGE— LOW LAYTON— EAST
HAM— WALTHAMSTOW— BONDER'S END — CHINGFORD— CHIG-
WELL — EPPING FOREST — WALTHAil ABBEY — TOMB OF
HAROLD — CRYPT — CUEIOUS TULIP TREE— BROXBOURNE—
ANGLING LOCALITIES— THE RYE HOUSE— THE "MEAL-TUB"
PLOT— BURNT MILL — HARLOW — SAWBRIDGEWORTH— CAM-
BRIDGE.

The " Eastern Counties Kailway" famishes a speedy mode of
cultivating acquaintance with Epping Forest and the fertile
fishing district of the Lea, and Ponder 's End, Waltham, and
Broxbourne are especially good points for starting on a
pleasure trip from the station. We shall for the first excursion
take the Cambridge Branch, and give the visitor an opportunity
of taking his ticket for either of the places we have indicated
above.

Leaving the commodious station at Shoreditch and crossing
on a long viaduct the miserable region tenanted by the
Spitalfield weavers, we have on our left Bethnal Green and
Bonner's Fields, the scene of the late Chartist disturbances. A
fine open space has been cleared away here within the last
few years for the establislmient of the new ** Victoria Park,"
where the hard-working artisans of the eastern suburbs may
escape from the moil and turmoil of the human hive to the
pleasanter pathways amid trees and flowers. Passing Bow
Church and the Tower Hamlets Cemetery on the right, and

128 STBATFOBD.

the Reservoir of the East London Waterworks on the left, we
reach Stratford, a busy station on the line, wheqce branches
diverge to Ipswich on the north, and the Thames Terminus
opposite Woolwich, on the east. Being the principal depot for
the locomotive and carriage department, many of the artificers
employed about the railway reside here, and a number of
houses, distinguished collectively as " Hudson New Town,"
has been erected for their accommodation. The mention
made by Chaucer of the manner in which one of his heroines
spoke French " after the scole of Stratford-atte-Bowe," not
only marks its antiquity, but shows its early reputation as a
place for seminaries. The bridge over the Lea at Bow was
built by Matilda, Queen of Henry I., and was the oldest stone
bridge in England. It was pulled down in 1 830, and a new
stone bridge of substantial appearance substituted. This
bridge unites Middlesex and Essex. Bow Church, with its
ivy covering, is as old as the reign of Henry H., and exhibits
some portions of Norman architecture, well displayed by its
position in the middle of the road. The new church of St.
John, at Stratford, is an elegant structure, built in 1836, and
is situated at the junction of the Newmarket and Colchester
roads. Some remains of an abbey, founded for Cistercian
monks in 1135, were lately existing here. The line now
crosses some extensive marshes watered by the Lea, from
which river Low Layton and Laytonstone derive their appella-
tion. In the last century some valuable Eoman remains
were here found, during an excavation, and a curious subter-
ranean arched gateway discovered. The church contains a
tomb to the memory of John Strype, the antiquary, who was
buried here at the ripe old age of 94, in 1737, after having
been the vicar here for nearly 70 years. Monuments are also
seen to the Earl of Norwich, William Bowyer, an eminent
printer, and others of some note. At Riwkliolts are tlie vestiges
of some ancient entrenchments, and the Temple Mills, now
used as Lead Works, were formerly in possession of the
Knights Templars. In the ancient church of East Ham is

WAXTHAM ABBET. 129

buried another renowned antiquary, Dr. Stukely, without any
inscription, according to his request ; there is only the date of
his death (1765). The parish extends from Wanstead flats to
the Thames.

Wahhamstow is a mile west of the Tottenham Station, and
dates back to the time of Edward the Confessor. The church
has a fine square tower, built in 1535, and contains some
good monuments. Here was bom George Gascoigne, one of
our earliest poets. From Pander's End we would suggest a
stroll on to Chingford, two miles from the station, and thence
explore onward to the west. Chingford Church, a small
antique building nearly covered with ivy, has a delightful
situation on a gentle grassy eminence overlooking the Lea on
one side, and the wooded undulations of Epping Forest on
the other. We would especially recommend in fine weather
a walk leading on to Chigwell and Chigwell Row, where the
famous hostel of the " Maypole," mentioned in " Bamaby
Rudge," is yet standing, though much altered of late. The
glades and sylvan avenues around Highbeach, Sewardstone,
and Upshire, are very beautiful, and capital places for a pic-
nic. We can then, to rejoin the railway, go round by
Waltham Abbey, Canute's favorite hunting station, and which,
though now a small town, formerly was honored with the
residence of Henry HL Here are some Government Powder
Mills on a large scale, and near the Abbey Mills, on a wide
space of ground called the " Bramblings," Henry VIH. had a
small pleasure-house that he used as an occasional residence,
and here he first met Cranmer, a meeting that afterwards led
to such important results. The branches of the Lea about
Waltham are said to flow in the channels originally made by
Alfred the Great, when he left the Danish fleet dry on the
shore by altering the course of the river. The remains of the
once famous monastery, from which the town takes its name,
are at the back of the parish church, a portion of which was
the old conventual chapel. They consist of an entrance gate-
way and bridge across an arm of the Lea, some vaulted

K

130 WALTHAM ABBET.

arches, and a few broken walls. Judging from its size, the
church must have been a magnificent specimen of Saxon
architecture. Previous to the battle of Hastings, Harold here
offered up his vows, and, after the fatal termination of the
conflict, it was here that he was brought for interment with
his two brothers, Garth and Leofwin, by their unhappy
mother Githa, who with difficulty obtained even the dead
bodies of her sons from the hands of the conquering Norman.
The site of Harold's tomb, which stood in a chapel beyond the
east end of the choir, is no less than 120 feet distant from the
termination of the present edifice. The nave, with its side
aisles, forms the body of the parish church, and is in the
Norman style, with round massive piers, decorated formerly
with costly brass embellishments. It is about 90 feet in length,
and 48 in breadth. A lofty square embattled tower, 86 feet
high, was erected at the west end of the church in 1558. The
" Chapel of our Ladye," now used as a vestry and school- room,
projects from the southern side of the church, and has beneath
it a fine arched crypt, which, says Fuller, who was the
incumbent here from 1648 to 1658, is " the fairest I ever saw."
At the south east end is another chapel, now a mere receptacle
for rubbish. A wooden screen bearing the arms of Philip and
Mary is worthy notice, as well as a font of great antiquity.
The glass painting of Harold, which was formerly near the
screen, was destroyed wantonly by the Puritans in their
display of animosity to all that savoured of kingly power.
Eastward of the church stood the Refectory, and the Abbey
Farm occupies the site of the ancient stables. Farmer quaintly
remarks that the church " is observed by all artists, and the
most carious, to stand the exactest east and west of any other
in Great Britain." No slight praise for an architect who
worked before the time of the " Mariner's Compass." In the
Abbey gardens is a tulip tree, esteemed the largest in England,
and said to measure nine feet six inches in circumference.

Broxboume, to which allusion has been made in our fourth
Middlesex Excursion, is the next station of importance, and

ETB HOUSE. 131

the silvery track of the Lea may hence be pleasantly followed
with rod and line for miles. The whole of this region is
thoroughly identified with Izaak Walton and the " Complete
Angler." Modern Piscators, too, are constantly seen plying
their gentle vocation on the borders of the Lea and Stort,

whose

"— — plenteous streams a various race supply ;
The bright-ey'd perch with fins of Tyrian dye ;
Tlie silver eel in shining volumes roU'd ;
The yellow carp, in scales bedropped with gold ;
Sirift trouts, diversified with crimson stains,
And pikes the tyrants of the watery plains."

There are several pretty wayside hostels, too, about the banks,
that provide good accommodation for fishing parties, and at
these perchance a satisfactory modern substitute may be
found for that delectable potation spoken of by the epicurean
Izaak, and which he describes as composed of " sack, milk,
oranges, and sugar, which all put together made a drink like
nectar; indeed, too good for any but us anglers."

About a mile and a half from Broxbourne, and 21 miles
from London, is the Rye House, situated on the Lea, near
where it joins the Stort, and close to the old market town of
Hoddesdon, previously described. A well-appointed tavern,
that has borrowed its name from the mansion, lies on the side
of the road to Stanstead Abbots and Harlow. The old mansioil
itself lies to the north of the tavern, at a short distance from
the east bank of the river. Few need be reminded that here
assembled the conspirators who intended, it is said, to have
murdered Charles IL and his brother James, Duke of York
(afterwards James II.), on their road home from Newmarket.
The house, which formerly occupied considerable space, was
built by one Andrew Ogard, in the reign of Henry VI., and
being surrounded by a moat, was, from its insular position,
called " the Isle of Rye." At the period (1683) when this
" meal-tub plot " was alleged to be in process of concoction,
the house was tenanted by a maltster named Rumbald. The
return of the monarch being at a much earlier period than

132 HABLOW — SAWBEIDGEWOKTH.

was expected, is said to have frustrated the conspirators, but
there is every reason to believe that the whole affair existed
only in the heated imagination of the witnesses. So implicitly,
however, was it believed at the time, that those noble-minded
patriots Russell and Sydney were tried and executed, on
account of their supposed connection with an absurd plot
which the whole evidence brought forward tended to disprove.
The maltster, Kumbald, escaped at the time, but when, some
years after, he was attending the Duke of Argyle, on his
landing in Scotland, he was taken captive, and suffered the
most horrible death that can be conceived. Although much
wounded at the time when he was captured, a contemporary
writer says, that " he was hoisted up by a pulley and hanged
awhile; he was then let down, scarce fully dead, his heart
plucked out and carried on the point of a bayonet by the
hangman." He died, however, resolutely denj-iug the truth of
the " Rye House " plot. The only part of the mansion which
now remains is an embattled gate house, built of brick and
ornamented with a handsome stone Gothic doorway. The
moat is quite filled up. The few chimneys left standing are
very curiously constructed, and at one of the angles is a
turret, to which an ancient winding staircase leads up from
the interior. Until lately it was a workhouse for the poor of
Stanstead Abbots, in which parish it is situated.

Burnt Mill, Harlow, and Sawbridgeworth furnish agreeable
pastoral scenery to the pedestrian, but the country round is of
too flat and level a character to exhibit such prospects as we
are continually encountering on the roads through Surrey
and Kent. The railway passenger who can proceed onward
to Cambridge and see the Colleges will not, however, regret
his prolongation of the tour, though a description of this
famous university town, so charmingly situated on the banks
of the "classic Cam," is manifestly beyond our restricted
limits.

EXCURSION II.

BY RAILWAY TO CHELMSFORD (COLCHESTER
BRAXCH)— STRATFORD -WEST HAM— ILFORD STATION— WAN-
STEAD— WANSTE AD HOUSE— BARKING— CHADWELL STREET

WARD — ROMFORD — HAVERING-ATTE-BOWER CURIOUS

LEGEND — BRENTWOOD — INGRAVE — THORNDON HALL —
INGATESTONE — BLTTSBLT?Y XSD STOCK — CHELMSFORD—
GREAT WALTHAM—DUNMOW— FLITCH OF BACON— RETURN
BY BISHOP'S STORTFORD TO TOWN.

A railway excursion to Chelmsford is hardly so prolific in
interesting localities as some we have described, but as many
who have exhausted other routes may like to try the " fresh
fields and pastures new" presented by this, we shall briefiy
glance at the notabilities that lie within the compass of the
line. The Colchester and Ipswich branch of the " Eastern
Counties " diverges to the north-east just below Stratford, and
the first place to which the attention of the passenger may be
called is West Ham, where a brick gateway and a small arch
form the remains of the ancient abbey that once stood within
the parish. The church is large but destitute of architectural
beauty. Nearly two mUes from the Ilford station is Wanstead,
where once stood the magnificent mansion of Wanstead
House, demolished in a most thoughtless and barbarous
manner by Viscount Wellesley, who married the wealthy
heiress of the Longs' and Tilneys'. The mansion was built,
in 1715, by Sir Richard Child, and the park was honored at
various times by festivities in celebration of the visits of Queen
Elizabeth and James I, Here also resided the Bourbon
Princes in their exile. The " Infant Orphan Asylum," at
Snaresbrook, was opened in June, 1843, for 500 orphans, and
is a handsome structure, well adapted for the benevolent

134 HAVEBIKG.

object to which it is devoted. The old town of Barkinglies to the
south of the station about the same distance, and occupies an
advantageous position on the east side of the river Eoding.
Numerous fishing vessels for the supply of Billingsgate keep
up a lively traffic in the place. At Chadwell Street Ward,
intersected by the line, there was, in 1659, an odd memorial
erected to the late Protector, Oliver Cromwell, in the form of
a whalebone arch, taken from a whale caught in Barking
Reach. Eastbury House, one mile from Barking, is an ancient
mansion, reported to have been a meeting-house for the
conspirators whilst engaged in arranging the details of the
Gunpowder Plot

Rmnford, six miles from Hford, is an important and some-
what venerable town, having a famous com and cattle market,
held every "Wednesday, according to a charter granted in
1247. There are several elegant seats in the neighbourhood,
bat no public buildings requiring mention. A stroll of three
miles north of the station to Havering-atte-Bower— the very
name of which carries a pleasant intimation of its Saxon
origin and woody environs — will be found worthy the pains
of the pedestrian. One of our old monarchs, Edward the
Confessor, had a palace here, and an old legend, in attributing
to him the present appellation of the parish, gives the follow-
ing explanation of an inscription recorded on his shrine in
Westminster Abbey. From this it would seem that in that
vague and uncertain period known to chroniclers of fairy
tales as " once-upon-a-time," an aged pilgrim met the
monarch, as he was leaving his palace, and solicited alms.
The king, having no money about liim, promised to remember
him next time, but the pilgrim would not be refused, arid,
after some further importunities, he presented the mendicant
with a ring, in default of the more convertible coin he had
been requested to bestow. Some years after this same pilgrim
was met in Judea by a party of English palmers traversing
the same land, in the hope of thereby winning a pardon for
some offences committed in their native cotmtry. They

BBENTWOOD. 185

recognised the pilgi-im, as Ophelia would have done, "by bis
cockle hat and staff, and by his sandal shoon," and he gave
unto them a ring, with instructions to bear it unto Edward the
Confessor, and announce to him that six months after he
should die. The prediction was, of course, verified, and firom
that time the village of Clavering became by a punning verbal
transition " Have-a-ring." Being what is called " a liberty,"
confirmed by Edward I. and other monarchs, the county
magistrates have no jurisdiction within its limits, and the
tenants claim exemption from toll throughout the kingdom.
It is a pleasant village on the borders of Hainault Forest,
which, with Epping Forest, is reputed to comprise upwards of
80,000 acres, many of which have latterly been placed under
cultivation.

Brentwood, a corruption of Burnt "Wood, the forest in which
it stood being consumed centuries ago by fire, is a thriving
town, much increased in importance since it has been a rail-
way station. The surrounding country assumes a more undu-
lating character, and the neighbourhood, especially towards
Billericay, becomes even picturesque. In the High Street will
be seen the old prison and Assize Hall, ^vhich has recently
undergone extensive repairs. The ancient chapel was dedi-
cated to Saint Thomas a Becket, in 1227. Notwithstanding
modern innovations, several buildings still remaining have an
antiquity of four centuries. Lord Petre, who resides at
Thomdon Hall, close by, has erected here a new Eoman
Catholic Chapel, which is, unquestionably, a fine ornament to
the place. This nobleman's seat is at Ingrave, about two miles
to the south, and has around it a fine park, with a noble
avenue of trees leading to the principal entrance. In the time
of Henry VII. it belonged to the Fitz-Lewis family, the last
representative of which was here burned to death, with his
bride, on their wedding night.

Ingatestone, five miles further, has no feature except the old
Hall, and its fishponds, to distinguish it from an ordinary
market town. This mansion, which is irregularly built, was

136 CHELMSPOED.

formerly the seat of the Petres, to whom are some interesting
monuments in the old church. About three miles to the south
are two little parishes called Buttsbury and Stock, fonning
one village between them. Buttsbury Church is quite a
curiosity in its way, measuring only three feet by twenty, and
having a square tower of flint and stone, that makes the
whole edifice look in the distance like a Lowther Arcade toy.
The bricks made about here, called " Stock bricks," are
famous all through the country.

Chelmsford, 29 miles from London, was an old Roman
station on the river Chelmer, to which it owes its name, and
has a neat and bustling appearance, as the capital of the
county. The County Hall, built of Portland stone, with four
handsome Ionic columns, has a majestic aspect from the
High Street, and here the sessions and assizes are held. A
Museum, Mechanics' Institution, Assembly Rooms, and a
handsome church, are all ornaments to the town.

An agreeable circuit can be made from Chelmsford through
Great Waltham to Dunmow, a distance of about six miles.
Great Dunmow is just the quiet old-fashioned town that a
recollection of the ancient custom held within its limits would
prepare us to expect. The hill on which it stands overlooks
the river Chelmer and the finest tract of meadow land in the
county. The celebrated Flitch of Bacon was a custom which
originated in the reign of Henry ILL with Robert Fitzwalter,
who, with the monks of Dunmow Priory, made a grant that
" he who repenteth not of his marriage, sleeping or waking,
might lawfully fetch a flitch of bacon." The last application
for the flitch was made in 1751, since which time the Caudle
Lectures have probably interfered with a repetition of the
claim. In 1837 it was revived, with some variation of the
original tenure, and now the bacon is annually presented " to
the married couple — labourer in husbandry and his wife —
who shall have brought up the greatest part of their children,
and placed them in respectable service, without any or the
least parochial relief."

bishop's stoetfoed. 137

It is eight miles from Dumnow to the Bishop's Stortford
Station, on the Cambridge line, and thus the excursionist can
pleasantly vary his return route to town.

Before parting company with the reader, we would fain
once more impress upon him the advantages of reducing the
hints for excursions given in the foregoing pages to the
pleasant proofs of practical experience. We firmly believe
that nothing can give a more vigorous spur to the flagged
and jaded intellect — nothing can administer a more genuine
and invigorative impulse to our thoughts and fancies, than
the occasional flight from the busy scenes of commerce to the
green recesses of our surrounding woodlands, where we may
exchange the dizzy hum of traflic for peaceful meditation in
those sylvan sohtudes that are to be found amid the haunts of
nature. Quick trains and cheap fares have done wonders in
bringing the hearts of luckless Londoners into communion
with the charms of the country, and what we have endeavoured
to show is, that if the long purses and long jotirneys commen-
surate therewith are not ANathin the power of the milUon to
attain, we have yet a hundred delightftd resorts within the
compass of a few shillings and a few hours. If we cannot
accomplish a trip to the Continent, we can manage a jaunt to
Leith Hill; if we fail to reach the lakes, or find the Highlands
beyond our reach, we can yet agreeably content ourselves
with an afternoon in Richmond Park or a day in Windsor
Forest.

INDEX AND TABLE OF DISTANCES

FOB THE

EXCUESIONIST EOUND LONDON.

5j
I

32

5|
13
25
13

8

5*

3

8
12
26
23
29

5i

21

7
17}

4
31

4J
1(5
21
22
10
24

7
30
13
29
21
22
16
31
10*

91
101

5
26

4

2

Names of Places.

Abbot's Langley, HerU . .

Acton, MidSesex

Addington, Surrey ,

Am well, Herts

Banstead, Surrey

Barking, Essex

Barnes, Surrey

Battersea, Surrey

Beckenham, Kent

Beddington, Surrey

Berkhampstead, Herts . .

Billericay, Essex

Bishop's Stortford, Herts

Blacklieath, Kent

Ho-^, Middlesex

Brentford, ifidcCetex

Brentwood, £M&r

Brixton, Surrey

Brompton, Kent

Brook Green, Middlesex. .

Broxbonme, Herts

Buttsbury, Essex

By&eet, Surrey

Carshalton, Surrey

Chalk, Kent

Charlton, Kent

Chatham, Kent

Cheam, Surrey

Chelmsford, Essex

Chertsey, Surrey

Chevening, Kent

Cheshunt, Herts

Chiddingstone, Kent ....

Chigwell, Essex

Chingford, Essex

Chislehnrst. Kent

Chismck, Middlesex ....

Cobham, Surrey

Clapham, Surrey

Clapton, Middlesex

Nearest Railway Station, &
distance therefrom.

mUes.

Watfbrd 5

Ealing 1

Croydon 3|

Hertford 3 1

Epsom 3 i

Ilford 2

Barnes |

Clapham Common .. H

Sydenham 2 |

Carshalton 1 j

Berkliampstead .... [

Brentwood 5i

Bishop's Stortford . . j

Greenwich l*,

Stratford |

Ealing 24

Brentwood

Omnibus Route ....

See Chatham

Omnibus Route ....

Broxbonme '

Ingatestone 3

Weybridge 2

Carshalton

Gravesend 2i

Greenwich It

Rochester 1

Cheam

Chelmsford

Chertsey

Tonbridge 10

Cheshunt

Edenbridge 4

Ponder's End 4

Ponder'sEnd 2

Sydenham 7

Omnibus or Steamboat

Woking 21

Clapham Common . . 2
Omnibus Route '

139

Names of Places.

Nearest Railway Station, &
distance therefrom.

miles.

Gravesend 5

Croydon

Romford 3

Greenwich 9

Deptford

Reigate 7i

Forest HUl 2

Bishop's Stortford . . 8

Ealing 1

Mortlake 1

Romford 13

Edenbridge 1

Edmonton 1

Chertsey 4

Greenwich 3

Ponder's End 2

Broxbourne 7

Epsom

Route by Steamboat
Claremont and Esher 1

Ewell

Sydenham 8

Famborough 6

Coach Route

Mile End

Omnibus Route ....

Guildford 4

Steamboat Route . . .

Hanwell 2

Steamboat Route ....

Greenwich

Guildford

Lea Bridge 1

Omnibus Route ....
Omnibus Route ....

Hampton

Hanwell

Harrow

Hertford 7

Romford 3

Hemel Hempstead . . 2

Hertford

Edenbridge 2

Waltham Abbey ...
Omnibus Route • ..

Broxbourne 2i

Omnibus Route

Southall 3

Ingatestone

Ingrave, Essex Brentwood 2i

Isleworth, Middlesex IKichmond 2

Islington, MidUlesej; I Omnibus Route

26 Cobham, Kent

10 Croydon, Surrey

15 Dagenham, ^Asar

15 Daitford, iien*

4 Deptford, A'en*

24 Dorking, Surrey

4 Dulwich, Surrey

35 Dunmow, Essex

7 Ealing, Middlesex

6i East Sheen, Surrey

26 East Tilburj', Essex

32 Edenbridge, Kent

7 Edmonton, Middlesex

18 Eghaxa, Surrey

8 Eltham, ^«/i<

9 Enfield, Middlesex

17 Epping, Essex

15 Epsom, Surrey

14 Evith, Kent

15 Esher, Surrey

14 Ewell, Surrey

15 Famborough, Kent

39 Famham, Surrey ,

6 Finchley, Middlesex ,

3 Ford (Old) Middlesex

4 Fulham, Middlesex ,

33 Godalming, Surrey

22 Gravesend, Kent

8 Greenford, MidiUesex ,

19 Greenhithe, Kent

5 Greenwich, Kent

30 Guildford, Surrey

6 Ham, Essex

3i Hammersmith, Middlesex .

4 Hampstead, Middlesex . . .

12 Hampton Court, Middlesex

7i Hanwell, Middlesex

9i Harrow, Middlesex

20 llntaeld, Berts

15 Havering, Kssex

23i Hemel Hempstead, Herts .

81 Hertford, Berts

84 Hever, Kent

12 High Beach, Essex

S| Highgate, Middlesex

n Hoddesdon, Berts

2 HoUoway, Middlesex

10 Hounslow, Middlesex

23 Ingatestone, Essex

SO

140

■fci

Names of Places.

Nearest Railway Station, &
distance therefrom.

12 Kingston, Surrey
25 Knoclihoit, Kent
5i Laytonstone, Essex
19 Leatherhead, Surrey

6 Lee, Kent
29 Leitli HUl, Surrey

64 Lewisham, Kent

14 Long Ditton, Surrey

19 Merstham, Surrey .......

7 Merton, Carrey

23 Jimton, Kent

24 Minis, Herts

6i Mortlake, Surrey

20 Nortlifleet, A'e«<

6 Norwood Surrey

3 Nunhead, Surrey

21 Ongax, Essex

3 Peckliam, Surrey

37 Penaliurst, Kent

10 Petersham, Surrey

1 2 J Pinner, Middlesex

16 Pm-fleet, Essex

44 Putney, Surrey

21 Reigate, Surrey

10 Richmond, Surrey

18 Rickmansworth, ^erts ...

23 Rivevhead, Kent

29 Rochester, A>n<

12 Romford, ii.sftr

21 Saint Alban's, //ert«

23 Seven Oaks, Kent

8 Shooter's Hill, Kent

17 Staines, J/i<Mfesea;

22 Stock, Essex

3 Stock well, Surrey

4 Stratford, Essex

7 Streatliam, Surrey

7 Sydenham, Kent

7 Tooting, Surrey ,

71 Tottenham, Middlesex

1 0 Twickenham, Middlesex —

15 Uxbridge, Middlesex

12 Waltliam Abbey, Essex ....
12 Waltham Cross, Herts . —

6 Wandsworth, -Surr€y ,

19 Weybridge, Surrey

224 Windsor, Berks

6 Wim Weduu, Surrey

a4 Woking, Surrey

8 Woodford, Essex

16 Woodmansteme, Surrey . .

9 Woolwicli« A'ent

miles.

Kingston

Coach Route

Lea Bridge 1

Epsom 4

Greenwich 2

Reigate 10

Greenwich 1

Esher 1

Merstham

Wimbledon 1

Gravesend 1

Hertford 7

Mortlake

Gravesend 2

Sydenliam 4

Omnibus Route

Brentwood 8

Omnibus Route

Penshurst 2

Richmond 1

Pinner

Romford 9

Putney

Reigate 14

Richmond

Watford 3

Penshurst 74

Gravesend 8

Romford

Watford 7

Penshurst 6

Greenwich 3

Staines

Ingatestone 3

Omnibus Route

Stratford

Omnibus Route

Sydenliam

Omnibus Ronte

Tottenham

Richmond It

West Draj'ton 3

Edmonton 1

Waltham

Wandsworth

Weybridge

Slough 24

Wimbledon

Woking 1

Lea Bridge 4

Croydon 5

Greenwich 3

11,000

1.470
636

1,285
704
4,684
1,004
7,7GO
5,026
1,563

41,422
5,317

10,430
5,061

2,487
605

25,000
6,994
2,yi5
2,840
8,584
5,208
3,219
4,177

rjr^^-jrS.

CHARGES AT INNS.

The charges at inns are very uncertain, and are by no means
proportioned to the excellence of the accommodation. It may
be as well to give the traveller a scale of the usual charges made
at some of the best inns in the country, and he should not on any
account pay more, unless he has had unusual accommodation:

s. d. s. d.
Breakfast - - - - 16 to 19

Dinner ------ 2 0

Half-a-pintof Wine - - - - 1 3

Tea 16

Bed 16

7s.Qd,oxSs

Fee to the waiter, 3^. for each meal; chambermaid, 6d.;

"boots," for cleaning boots and shoes, 2d. If more charges are

made than the above, the traveller should deduct the overcharge,

and then put down the fees he gives to the servants, thus :

Breakfast ----- 2 0

Dinner - - - - - -30

Tea 20

Fire, bed, and lights - - - - 3 0 *. rf.

Wine ------ 1 6 — -11 6

Such charges as these have been often attempted at some of the
worst inns near London.

Underneath this bill the traveller should write —

Overcharge Dinner - - - - 1 0

„ Breakfast - - - 0 3

„ Tea - - - - 0 6

„ Wine - - - - 0 3

Bed, etc.

Then write —

Waiter -
Chambermaid
Boots -

1

6~

— 3 0

8 6

0

6

0

6

0

o

1 *»

Total - - - 9 8

DAY'S EXCURSIONS AROUND THE METROPOLIS.

The following hints make no pretence of exhausting all the inte-
resting features of scenery or antiquities near London, which
is surrounded by beauties little dreamt of by those who do not
take the trouble of becoming acquainted with them. I'robably
many things are passed by, equally worthy of a visit, still those
which are noted, will, I am certain, in nowise disappoint any
one: —

36 HAND-BOOK FOR HOLIDAYS.

Eastward. — To Greenwich, by river steamer or railway — see the
College, built by Sir C. Wren — walk through the Park — over
Blackheath — through Lee to Eltham — see the ruins of the old
Palace, now a barn — thence by Shooter's Hill to Woolwich, a
walk of about ten miles — return by river steamer.

Greenwich. — 1. Those who want a couple of hours' fresh air
cannot do better than go to Greenwich, and stroll about the
hillocks and dales of the Park.

2. With an hour's more time the circuit of Blackheath
may be taken.

3. Go across the Park and out at the West Gate, and then
up the lane opposite the gate, and through pleasant footpaths
to the pretty village of Charlton, and return the same way, or
by the Blackheath Road, and through the Park by the Black-
heath Gate.

4. Go to Charlton as in No. 3, and keep on to Woolwich
Common — go up to Shooter's Hill, and return to Greenwich
by the Blackheath Road.

5. Go to Charlton as at No. 3, cross to Woolwich Lower
Road, and if possible see the Charlton Sand-pits, in which
many strata are seen at once, and proceed by the low road
either to the steamer at Woolwich, or back by the low road to
Greenwich.

To Woolwich by steamer — then cross the Common and go
over Shooter's Hill towards Gravesend — then take the second
or third turning to the left and get back to Woolwich.

From Gravesend steamer — ^land at Erith, the country being
pretty behind the village and church — return by steamer, or
walk through Plumstead to Woolwich.

From Gravesend steamer — land at Pai^eet, and see the
chalk-pits and public gardens, etc.

From Gravesend b)' steamer — go up Windmill Hill, and to
the Rosherville Gardens.

To Gravesend by steamer — walk or ride to Rochester, seven
miles — see Castle, which was built by Bishop Gundulph, in
William Rufus' reign : the tower is a very fine ancient military
ruin — Cathedral, whose western front is one of the most inte-
resting remains of Romanesque or Anglo-Norman Architec-
ture in our country; the crypt here is very remarkable for its
extent — back to Gravesend.

To Gravesend — ride to Rochester and walk to Maidstone —

day's excursions around the metropolis. 37

see the Old Cromlech, Kit's Cotty House, which is midway
between Maidstone and Rochester, and back, about IG miles.

To Gravesend — walk to Cobham, about five miles — see
Cobham Hall, an extensive but not very decorated Elizabethan
house, with many pictures; it is open on Fridays only. Eleven
till Four, by tickets purchaseable at Caddell's Library, Graves-
end, 2*. each — see Cobham church, with its tine old architec-
tonic tombs, and return the same way.

South-Eastward. — A visit in the summer to Sevenoaks and its
neighbourhood has many attractions. Situate between two
ridges of the chalk hills, and abundantly decorated with fine
trees, the scenery is extremely beautiful and luxuriant on all
sides. Knowle Park is celebrated for its beech trees ; and the
house is one of the most interesting and earliest existing speci-
mens of Domestic architecture. Many of the rooms remain
nearl}' in their original state; and the collection of paintings,
chiefly historical portraits, is very extensive. The grounds
are open to all; and the house is liberally shewn at all times,
even on Sundays. There is so much to be seen and enjoyed
at Sevenoaks, that it will be best to get there in the quickest
way possible, which is by carriage of some kind.

To Sydenham, by Croydon Railway — walk to Bromley, over
Hayes Common, across to Chislehurst, and back through
Bromley to Sydenham, a delightful walk of about 15 miles,
especially towards the latter end of the spring.

To Croydon by Railway, over Croomhurst Hill, which
abounds with lilies of the valley — to West Wickham and Ad-
dington — to Keston, over Hayes Common — see the Roman
Encampment — to Bromley — to Sydenham, a walk of about
15 miles, and return by Railway.

South. — To Red Hill, by Brighton Railway — walk through Rei-
gate to Dorking, over Box Hill, in June, when almost the
whole tribe of orchideae may be found in blossom there —
through Mickleham, Leatherhead, to Ditton Railway Station,
about 20 miles, return to Town by South Western Railway.

Ride to Croydon by Brighton Railway — walk through Car-
shalton, over Banstead Downs, by Walton-on-the-Hill to
Gatton — back from Merstham by Croydon Railway, about 16

miles.

Ride to Sydenham by Croydon Railway — walk by the
Beulah Spa, through Norwood, Tooting to Wimbledon, about
nine miles — to Town by South Western Railway.

d2

38 HAND-BOOK FOR HOLIDAYS.

South-West. — Ride to Pitton Marsh by South Western Railway
— walk through Esher — see Wolsey's Well, and the Ruins of
t!ie Water-Gate House of Wolsey's Palace on the Mole —
to St. George's Hill, the highest of the Surrey Hills, near the
Tiiames — to Weybridge Station — total distance, about seven
miles — return by railway. Another walk: by Esher to Pain's
Hill, nearCobhani — to the Ruins of Newark Abbey, near Pin-
ford — by banks of Basingstoke Canal to Weybridge Station —
about 15 miles.

Ride to Woking by South Western Railway, and by coach
to Guildford — walk on the ridge of hills to Dorking and to
Reigate, with magnificent prospects over miles of cultivation
at every step — total distance about 20 miles — return from Red
Hill station on Brighton Railway.

Ride to Ditton Marsh, walk to Ditton Ferry, and cross the
River, pursue the Towing-path up the Thames (crossing
Hampton Bridge), to Weybridge : or instead, walk by the
picturesque banks of the Mole, to Moulsey, and follow the
Towing-path to Weybridge. Pass by the Railway Station, and
over St. George's Hill into the Walton Road. Return by
South Western Railway from Walton Station. The Marshy
ground on the east side of Walton Bridge, is called " Cowey
Stakes." Here tradition relates that Julius Caesar crossed the
Thames. Here the eye which is keen after the picturesque,
will find much that is gratifying in several views of the three
bridges; and Mr. Barry's elegant campanile to Lord Tanker-
ville's Villa, will not be unnoticed. If the present Lessee of
Oatland Park (Lord F. Egerton), had not forbidden its use as
a thoroughfare, the walk might be varied, through the varieties
of its fine foliage.

Let those who do not grudge the expense take the earliest
Train to Southampton, and pass the day among the Ruins of
Netley Abbey, begun about 1239; beautiful remnants of the
lancet-arch, roofless, except with canopies formed by very
tall overhanging ash trees, which grow among the ruins.
Another day may be well spent in Winchester ; several hours
being devoted to its Cathedral. Dalloway briefly instances its
peculiarities as follows: " Wykeham's" nave (A.D. 1394) is
considered as one of the finest in England, and longer than
that of York. The exterior of the Choir and Lady's Chapel is
of most beautiful workmanship of the fifteenth century. There
are four very fine Sacella, or Sepulchral Chapels, for the
Bishops Wykeham, Waynflete, Beaufort, and Fox. Wykeham

day's excursions around the metropolis. 39

is said to have surrounded the piers erected by Wakelyn with
Pilasters. The Choir is under the Tower, as at Gloucester.
The exquisite Screen behind the altar was the work of Bishop
Fox, to whom Speed attributes not only the additions to the
Choir, but the vaulting and glassing (with stained glass) of
the whole Church.

A still more extensive Tour along the Undercliff of the
Isle of Wight, or even round the Island in a Steamer, or a
Geological Excursion to Allum Bay and the Needles, is by no
means impracticable in a long summer's day.

Ride to Weybridge b}' South Western Railway — walk
through Chertsey, Staines, and Windsor on to Slough Station,
about 1 6 miles, return by Great Western Railway.

West. — By River Steamer, when the tide is favourable, to Kew —
see the Gardens there — walk by the side of the Thames to
Richmond Hill, through Richmond Park, over Wimbledon
Common to Wimbledon Station, about eight miles — return by
South Western Railway.

By South Western Railway to Kingston Station — cross
Ditton Ferry — see the Gardens and Grounds of Hampton
Court, through Bushy Park, especially when the horse chest-
nuts are in blossom — through the pretty country town of
Kingston, across Richmond Park to Richmond, about ten
miles — return by Richmond Steamer.

By Great Western Railway to Slough — walk to Windsor,
remarking the views about Eton — by Frogmore Lodge, along
the Long Walk to Virginia Water, and back to Windsor,
about fourteen miles — ride in Omnibus to Slough Station,
fare 6d., and return by Railway.

By Great Western Railway to Maidenhead Station — walk
to Henley, and return by the Tow-path of the Thames, or
descend the river in a boat or barge. Some of the finest
scenery of the Tlmmes lies between Henley and Maidenhead.

By Great Western Railway to Reading — walk by the
banks of the River to Maidenhead, and return by Railway.

(Two Days' Excursion). Proceed as far as Reading bj- the
Great Western Railway — walk seven miles to Oakingham,
where are two comfortable Inns (one kept by Mrs. Wise),
thence by Eversley to Hartley Row for the night. The Lion
is the " head " Inn, but the Swan will do for him who has
little pride and few sixpences. Take the road opposite the

40 HAND-BOOK FOR IIOLTDATS.

Swan to the church, through Crondall and Farnham, or go
direct to the Farnboro' Station, which is six miles on the
London side of Farnham ; if strength and zeal hold out, walk
still on to Woking Common, and take the Southampton Train
to London. We would rather recommend the Inn at Frimley,
a mile from the Farnboro' Station, if there be time; it is beau-
tifully situated, and half a day may be whiled away in the
Park and Heath which surround it.

North West. — By Birmingham Railway to Harrow — ascend
the hill — see the church and the fine panoramic views. It is
worth while in the walk back to town, seeing the Kensal Green
Cemetery. The first road on the north-east side of the Ceme-
tery leads across the meadows over the Hippodrome, into the
Bayswater road, and is by far the pleasantest way into town.

By Birmingham Railway to Heme! Hempstead — walk
through Gorhambury Park to St Albans — see the Abbey,
the nave of which is one of the few authentic specimens of
Saxon architecture. It is among the largest of our Abbeys.
Thence to W^atford, and if there is time, see Cashioburj' and
its old picturesque mansion, about sixteen miles — return by
Railway.

Ride to Tring, by Birmingham Railway. — Walk to Wen-
dover, and if you desire good and reasonable entertainment,
pay Mrs. Rose a visit at the Crown Inn. Best to order a
dinner there, and whilst it is preparing walk to "Chequers,"
once inhabited by Oliv er Cromwell. Examine the magnificent
box trees in its neighbourhood, and a spot called " Velvet
Lawn ;" return to Wendover, and from Tring by Railway. If
a second day's absence from town is possible, pursue the course
of the Chiltern Hills to High Wycombe, thence to Marlow,
and by the Thames to Maidenhead.

North. — By Northern and Eastern Railway to Waltham Abbey
— see the Abbey. One of the most perfect remains of Saotoii
Ci->>,> a \\ architecture near the Metropolis. Walk across Epping
Forest, through Loughton and Cliigwell, and across Hainhault
Forest to Romford, about thirteen miles — return by Eastern
Counties Railway.

Ride to Hatfield and back. The three Parks and Mansions
with their contents — of Brockett Hall, Penshanger Park, and
Hatfield Park, are most pleasant subjects for a day's excursion.

From West End of the Town, go by Regent's Park, Prim-
rose Hill, and footpath to Hampstead; go about the Heath on

day's excursions around the metropolis. 41

both sides of the road ; go thence by road to Highgate, or by
footpath through Vale of Health, and by Caen Wood to back
road to Highgate; or the same way, turning at the ponds, up
a by-road, through the grounds of Caen Wood, leading into
the road between Hampstead and Highgate.

Highgate to Hornsey and Muswell Hill, or to Muswell
Hill and Colney Hatch, and back, or cross to Finchley.

Hampstead to Hendon, and return by Edgeware Road, or
cross on through Neardon and Willesden.

The interest of a walk is very much enhanced by some know-
ledge of the natural history of the country explored. A list of
the more rare plants which grow around the Metropolis, would be
too long for the present work ; and the reader, if he is not already
acquainted with them, had best consult Turner and Dillwyn's
Botanist's Guide, where the plants peculiar to each county of
England and Wales are classified under their respective counties.
The neighbourhoods of Boxhill near Dorking, and of Walton-on-
Thames, may both be instanced as spots rich in Botanical rarities.
The objection of length does not, however, apply to a general
survey of the geological features of the metropolitan neighbour-
hoods ; and the following contribution of a well-wisher to this
little book is therefore inserted. It will be useful too as a Botani-
cal Guide, inasmuch as each soil has its own especial plants.

GEOLOGY OF LONDON.

The soil on which London is built, and that of the country
around, to a great distance in all quarters, consists of various
strata of clays, sands, and gravel reposing on a chalk bed or basin.
The brim of this basin has been carried away on the sea-side, but
on the land-sides it remains, forming the elevated ridges of chalk
hills which terminate at Dover on the south-east, and Hunstanton
in Norfolk on the north-east. The clay beds extend along the
sides of the Thames forming the elevations of Highgate, the sub-
strata of Hampstead, Hendon, Harrow, and mixed up with gravel,
extend through Uxbiidge, Beaconsfield. to the chalk at High
Wycombe. Clay with deposits of gravel and a little sand form
the chief soil of all the south-east and north-east of Essex. The
hills on the Surrey side of London are of clay, as at New Cross,
Nun-Head Hill, Heme Hill, Brixton, and on to Wandsworth,
where they terminate by an inconsiderable elevation above the
alluvial meadows of Battersea on the shores of the Thames. This
clay is covered in various places by immediate deposits of sand of
various kinds, forming the beautiful elevation of Hampstead Heath,
and those invaluable waste lands (invaluable for the purposes of

42

HAND-BOOK FOR HOLIDAYS.

health and out-of-door enjoyment, because waste and sterile) of
Clapham Common, Wandsworth, Wimbledon. Extending beyond
the valley of the Wandle, Kingston, and the valley of the Mole,
they appear again at Esher, forming that immense tract of sandy
heath which reaches to Ripley, Woking, and Bagshot Heath, and
present the picturesque heights of St. George's Hill and St. Ann's
Hill. They reach to Hartley Row. where appears a little clay, and
as far as the chalk at Odiham and Basingstoke. They pass north-
ward to Bracknel, and near to Oakingham, where are found the
gravels and clays of the valley of the Loddon and the Thames, and
of Windsor Forest. The sand, gravel, and clay, alternating with
one another, form the little frequented but delicious sylvan scenery
of Eversley, Hartley Row, and Crondall.

upp EH Marine
Harrow .•' Botley Hill

A rude but not altogether inappropriate idea may be formed of
the London basin as it is called, by considering the chalk hills
which extend from Norfolk to Dover, as forming the edge of a
fire shovel, the hollow of which has been scooped out by torrents
of water (the deluge of the ancient world), and its contents borne
away into the sea. An immense hollow area has been left, which
has been partially filled up (by the operation of successive torrents
and floods of water) with sand, gravel, and clay — washed, drifted,
and accumulated in all sorts of tortuous forms, according to the force
and direction of the various currents which have flowed over it.
The Thames may be considered as the great residuary drain, when
all had become quiet and had formed its last level. By a glance at
the map, the chalk liills which form the edge or brim of this
vast hollow, may be traced from Dover running westernly by
Canterbury, Rochester, Wrotham, Godstone, Reigate, Guildford,
Basingstoke, Hungerford, through Berkshire and Buckingham-
shire, approaching London at St. Albans, Hertford, Ware, Bishop's
Stortford, all the north-western part of Essex, as at Saffron-Walden,
the western side of Sufiblk, as at Bury St. Edmunds, and termi-

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